OJJDP FY 2021 Children's Advocacy Centers Membership and Accreditation Program | O OJJDP 2021 47004

Opportunity Information: Apply for O OJJDP 2021 47004

The OJJDP FY 2021 Children's Advocacy Centers (CACs) Membership and Accreditation Program is a discretionary funding opportunity from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), designed to strengthen the national infrastructure that supports Children's Advocacy Centers. The award is intended for a national membership and accreditation organization that can provide training and technical assistance focused on the development, adoption, and implementation of national standards for CACs. In practical terms, the grant supports work that helps CACs operate consistently and effectively across jurisdictions by promoting standardized, evidence-informed practices and helping centers meet recognized accreditation benchmarks.

CACs are described as community-based hubs that coordinate responses to child abuse allegations and related crimes against children. They typically bring together multidisciplinary teams, meaning professionals from multiple systems that touch a child abuse case, such as child protective services, law enforcement, prosecutors, medical and mental health providers, and victim advocates. The goal of this coordinated model is to reduce trauma to child victims, improve the quality of investigations and case outcomes, and ensure that children and families receive timely, appropriate services while cases move through investigative and legal processes. This solicitation, therefore, is not about funding individual local CAC operations directly; it is aimed at supporting the national organization responsible for guiding, training, and assisting CACs to meet shared standards and sustain high-quality multidisciplinary practice.

The award mechanism is a cooperative agreement, which generally means OJJDP expects to have substantial involvement in the funded project, such as collaboration on deliverables, oversight of key activities, or coordination on training and technical assistance priorities. The funding opportunity number is O-OJJDP-2021-47004, and it falls under the Law, Justice and Legal Services activity category (CFDA 16.758). The maximum award amount (award ceiling) is $2,500,000. The solicitation was created on December 21, 2020, with an original closing date of March 5, 2021.

Eligibility is broad and includes public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations with IRS 501(c)(3) status (other than higher education institutions), for-profit organizations other than small businesses, and other eligible entities as specified by the solicitation. However, there are important restrictions. All recipients and subrecipients, including for-profit organizations, must forgo any profit or management fee under this award, meaning the grant cannot be used to generate profit or pay a management fee on top of costs. In addition, nonprofit organizations that hold money in offshore accounts for the purpose of avoiding payment of the tax described in 26 U.S.C. 511(a) are not eligible to apply, which is a compliance-related eligibility limitation tied to federal tax rules.

A notable condition connected to this FY 2021 DOJ discretionary funding is the implementation of Executive Order 13929, Safe Policing for Safe Communities. Under this policy, all state, local, and campus (college or university) law enforcement agencies must either be certified by an approved independent credentialing body or have begun the certification process to be eligible for FY 2021 DOJ discretionary grant funding. This requirement also applies if a law enforcement agency benefits through a subaward, not just as a direct recipient. The certification hinges on two mandatory conditions: first, the agency's use-of-force policies must comply with all applicable federal, state, and local laws; second, the agency's use-of-force policies must prohibit chokeholds except in situations where deadly force is legally permitted. The solicitation points applicants to DOJ guidance and resources, including the Standards for Certification, an implementation fact sheet, and a list of designated independent credentialing bodies available through the COPS Office website link provided in the announcement.

Overall, the opportunity is focused on improving national consistency and quality in the CAC model by investing in the organization that sets and supports accreditation and membership standards, while also requiring grantees to comply with DOJ-wide conditions related to safe policing certification (where law enforcement agencies are involved as recipients or subrecipients) and financial/eligibility restrictions such as the ban on profit or management fees and limitations related to offshore accounts.

• The Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention in the law, justice and legal services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "OJJDP FY 2021 Children's Advocacy Centers Membership and Accreditation Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.758.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2020-12-21.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-03-05. (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 $2,500,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Nonprofits having 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, Others.

Apply for O OJJDP 2021 47004

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