OJJDP FY 16 Defending Childhood State Policy Initiative | OJJDP 2016 9154

Opportunity Information: Apply for OJJDP 2016 9154

The OJJDP FY 16 Defending Childhood State Policy Initiative is a discretionary federal funding opportunity from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (CFDA 16.818) designed to strengthen how states respond to children and youth who have been exposed to violence. OJJDP planned to make one cooperative agreement award, with funding up to $500,000, to a single lead organization that would provide hands-on support to as many as four states. The closing date for applications was May 10, 2016, and the solicitation number was OJJDP 2016 9154.

At its core, the initiative focuses on helping participating states put statewide policies and day-to-day practices in place that identify trauma early and connect young people to appropriate care. The funded organization would work across youth-serving systems to help states ensure that at-risk children and youth are consistently screened and assessed at every point of contact, with particular attention to the juvenile justice and child welfare systems. The intent is to reduce missed opportunities for early identification by making screening and assessment routine and coordinated rather than sporadic or dependent on a single agency.

A second major goal is expanding access to evidence-based, trauma-informed treatment for children and youth exposed to violence. This emphasizes services that are supported by research and delivered in ways that recognize the impact of trauma on behavior, development, and engagement with services. The initiative is not just about referring young people to treatment, but about improving the overall system response so that treatment options are appropriate, effective, and aligned with trauma-informed principles across agencies.

The solicitation also highlights the practical funding side of sustaining these improvements. OJJDP expected the awardee to help states identify mechanisms to blend and braid funding streams so that screening, assessment, and treatment services can be supported over time. In other words, states would be encouraged to coordinate multiple sources of funding, potentially across agencies and programs, in a way that maintains each funding source's requirements while creating a more stable and comprehensive approach to trauma identification and care.

All of these efforts are aimed at measurable improvements in outcomes for children and youth exposed to violence. While the solicitation language is broad, the outcome focus implies better identification of needs, more timely and appropriate service connections, improved cross-system coordination, and ultimately better well-being and functioning for affected children and youth.

Eligibility was limited to nonprofit and for-profit organizations (including tribal nonprofit and for-profit entities) and institutions of higher education (including tribal institutions). A key condition is that any recipient organization had to agree to forgo profit and management fees under the award. OJJDP also encouraged collaborative applications where multiple entities would carry out project activities, but required that one eligible organization serve as the lead applicant with primary responsibility for administering the funds and managing the full initiative; other participating entities would be included as subrecipients. Only one application per lead applicant would be considered, although subrecipients could participate in more than one proposal.

Because this was structured as a cooperative agreement, the project would be carried out with substantial federal involvement compared to a standard grant, typically meaning closer collaboration with OJJDP on implementation, strategy, and deliverables. Finally, OJJDP reserved the option to make awards from applications in future fiscal years depending on application merit and available appropriations, and also noted the possibility of supplemental funding for the successful applicant based on performance and funding availability.

• The Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention in the law, justice and legal services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "OJJDP FY 16 Defending Childhood State Policy Initiative" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.818.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2016-03-11.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2016-05-10. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $500,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others.

Apply for OJJDP 2016 9154

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