The grant is part of the STOP School Violence Act of 2018, and was designed to support local and state governments, as well as federally-recognized Indian tribes, in their efforts to prevent and reduce school violence around the country.
A joint effort between the Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP) and Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) is seeking applications for its Students, Teachers and Officers Preventing (STOP) School Violence Threat Assessment and Technology Reporting Program.
The $21 million in STOP grants will provide funding that can be used to develop, design, staff and operate a variety of programs, applications, hotlines, websites, intervention teams and training methods to prevent violence against school children.
Potential applicants can apply for one of two different areas of funding:
#1 School Threat Assessment
Funds should be used specifically for the development and operation of school threat assessment and crisis intervention teams. This can also include security surveys, crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) and prevention programs that would limit access to school property.
#2 Technology Development
Funds should be used for the creation and implementation of technology that encourage anonymous reporting through applications, hotlines or websites.
STOP School Violence Grants School Threat Assessment applications
In an effort to fairly distribute funds around the country, grant awards for the school threat assessment area of funding are based on the population size of the entity receiving the award for the first six categories.
Category 1: A state with a population greater than 500,000 for an award up to $1,000,000.
Category 2: A state with a population less than 500,000 for an award up to $500,000.
Category 3: An urban area or large county with a population greater than 500,000 for an award up to $500,000.
Category 4: A suburban area or medium-sized county with a population between 100,000 and 500,000 for an award of up to $250,000.
Category 5: A rural area or small county with a population of less than 100,000 for an award of up to $150,000.
Category 6: A federally-recognized Indian tribe for an award of up to $100,000.
The objective for applicants in the first six categories should be to increase school safety by assessing school threats and developing crisis management operations.
Entities who receive the STOP School Violence grant under the first six categories are required to deliver:
- A plan to deliver and conduct individual and school risk assessments
- Completed school assessments
- Established crisis intervention teams that are based on working relationships with local public safety agencies with the intention to reduce school violence
- Regular reports to the BJA based on individualized templates provided to recipients
STOP School Violence Grants Technology Development Applications
For entities seeking grant funds to create and develop technology in an effort to curb school violence through easier anonymous reporting avenues, awards of up to $200,000 will be given in Category 7.
The objective for applicants in this category should be to implement technological solutions, such as hotlines, websites, applications and other anonymous reporting options to be used by students, teachers and community members.
Recipients in this category are required to deliver:
- An anonymous reporting system designed to make it easier to report threats of school violence
- A product that works with existing systems
- A system that can share information with other individuals
Applications are due by July 23rd.
