Grants / Department of Justice / Bureau of Justice Assistance

O-BJA-2021-36001: BJA FY 2021 Invited to Apply - Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) Reallocation Funds

Closed Closed July 15, 2021 Opportunity O-BJA-2021-36001 ☆ Save

This grant is closed. A newer notice from the same program is open now: OJP FY 2026 Integrity in American Elections Grant Program (O-BJA-2026-172793). Status: Closes December 1, 2026 (24 days left). It is in our archive of Bureau of Justice Assistance notices from 2021.

• Award ceiling$374,664
• Award floor$1
• Total funding$3.1 million
• Expected awards29
• Cost sharingNot required
• Funding typeGrant

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)

In general, OJP expects that a prospective applicant that is sent an OJP Invitation Letter will be eligible to receive funding as described in the invitation. (Under certain circumstances, however, OJP ultimately may determine that an invited applicant is not, in fact, legally eligible to receive an award.) Applicants are limited to eligible State Administering Agencies (SAAs) for states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa that have submitted an assurance to the Department of Justice that at least 5 percent of Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) funding will be used to achieve full compliance with the PREA Standards per 34 U.S.C. §30307(e)(2)(E). The list of eligible SAAs and award amounts can be found in Appendix B. ­­­­­ All recipients and subrecipients (including any for-profit organization) must forgo any profit or management fee.

Is this a realistic fit?

• Past Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program awards averaged $414,240; this notice allows up to $374,664 per award.
• Most of the program's money (87% over five years) went to state and local governments.
• No cost sharing or match is required.

What the grant funds

The Prison Rape Elimination Act provides that a state whose Governor does not certify full compliance with the National PREA Standards (the Standards) is subject to the loss of 5 percent of DOJ grant funds that it would receive for prison purposes, unless the Governor submits an assurance that such 5 percent will be used only to enable the state to achieve and certify full compliance with the Standards in future years. (See 34 U.S.C. §30307(c).) The JAG Program is one of the DOJ grant programs that is subject to this requirement in fiscal year (FY) 2021, which began on October 1, 2020, and ends on September 30, 2021. Pursuant to PREA, the Governor has three options: (1) submit a certification that the state is in full compliance with the Standards; (2) submit an assurance that 5 percent of its DOJ funding for prison purposes (including its JAG award) will be used to enable the state to adopt and achieve full compliance with the Standards; or (3) accept a 5 percent reduction in such grants (including its JAG award). The deadline for the submission of a certification or assurance by the Governor was October 15, 2020. BJA will administer the PREA Reallocation funds from the JAG Program funds awarded to the eligible SAAs. The 5 percent reduction is assessed against the state's 60 percent share of JAG funding plus the less than $10,000 allocation, but excludes the mandatory variable pass-through amount. States must pass through these reallocation funds to the designated PREA contact agencies. OJP strongly encourages SAAs working to fulfill their obligations related to PREA to continue working expeditiously to comply with the Standards in order to better protect individuals from sexual abuse and sexual harassment in confinement facilities. The Bureau of Justice Assistance will continue to provide training and technical assistance and other resources to jurisdictions to support these efforts. PREA audits are a crucial component of successful PREA implementation, and, in August 2017, BJA released the PREA Auditor Handbook. This document articulates DOJ's expectations for all DOJ-certified PREA auditors, establishes requirements for auditor conduct and audit methodology, provides transparency to all stakeholders regarding the expected audit methodology, and serves as an easy-to-use reference guide for conducting high quality, objective, comprehensive, and reliable PREA audits. BJA is committed to ensuring that such audits are carried out nationwide.

Applying now

This notice no longer takes applications. Apply under the newer notice, O-BJA-2026-172793, which is open now.

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