Lawmakers suggest that $150 billion in unclaimed COVID-19 relief money should be put towards schools’ security.
With over 130,930 school districts that are enrolled in K-12 across the US If this bill passes, it would provide more than 1 million dollars per school, the difference could be huge.
The bill would permit schools that have received COVID-19 relief funds via the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) in order to make use of funds that are not used to purchase schools using “locks, panic buttons and individual room security systems, and video surveillance” and to hire school resource officers who are armed.
The new law would abolish the requirement of ESSER that expenditures be COVID-19-related. Find your representatives of the US Congress here and please urgently encourage them to support this vital safety law. You can cite the “Safe Schools Act”
Get a copy of Legislation HERE
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5/13/22 5/13/22 DHS Publicizes $1.6 Billion in grants for preparedness
WASHINGTON – Today the Secretary for Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas announced $1.6 billion for the eight fiscal years 2022 grants for preparedness.
Together, these grant programs offer crucial funding to assist officials from the state and local levels prepare the possibility of, prevent, and protect against and respond to the threat of terrorism as well as other threats.
This adds to $405.1 million that was announced last month in the Emergency Management Performance Grant Program.
DHS is identifying six priority areas for the nation within the FY 2022 grant cycle which include cybersecurity; Soft targets and crowded areas Information sharing and intelligence and domestic violence extremism community preparedness and resilience and security for elections.
Grantees under the State Homeland Security Program and Urban Area Security Initiative will be required to commit 30 percent or more of their funds to the six areas of priority.
Of the 30 percent that is required, 12% must be covered via minimum spending amount for the four areas of priority and recipients are able to choose how they divide their remaining 18% among the six areas of priority that include cybersecurity (no spending requirement) and soft targets and places that are crowded (3 3 percent) as well as information and sharing of intelligence (3 percent) and domestic violence extremism (3 percent) Community resilience and preparedness (3 percent) also election security (no minimum expenditure).
After extensive discussions with grantees prior to the decision, DHS is focused on making sure that it is balanced to fund high-priority areas but also allowing local governments the freedom to decide on priorities according to their own assessment of their own needs.
Similar to previous years, new capabilities built with the help of homeland security grant funds should be able to be used to assist national and regional efforts.
Any capabilities that are built or maintained must be clearly linked to the essential capabilities described by the National Preparedness Goal.
5/5/22 5/5/22 Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for FY 2022. Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP)
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has issued additional documents ahead of the announcement of the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for FY 2022. NSP (NSGP). Here are links to the:
- FY 2022 Fiscal Year Non-Profit Security Grants Application FAQ,
- Financial Year 2022 Non-Profit Security Grant Program Key Changes and
- FY 2022 Non-Profit Security Grant Subapplicant Program Rapid Start guide.
This Quick-Start Guide provides instructions on how to prepare to fill out an application, including the list of questions you’ll need to answer in the FY22 applications.
The FY22 template for applications is not yet available, however when you already have the answers to these questions it will be simpler to submit your application.
Read the Subapplicant’s Quick Start Guide to start making a list of the information and other materials you’ll need to include in an application in order submit an application for FY22’s NSGP grant.
Once the NOFO and application form are released and the application deadline is set, it will be very brief.
4/22/22 22nd April COPS Office Grant Announcement – New Funding Opportunity Available Now!
School Violence Prevention Program (SVPP)
In 2022, the COPS Office School Violence Prevention Program is a program that is competitive that grants direct funding to States as well as local governments, Indian tribes, and their public agencies.
The funds are used to increase security at schools and on school grounds within the area of jurisdiction of the grantee by implementing proven school safety programs. The program can provide up to $53 million available to this program.
Applications are due on the 21st of June, 2022, at 7:59 pm EDT. Please click here for more information about the school’s 2022 Violence Prevention Program.
4/15/22 4/15/22 DHS Announces Fiscal Year 2022’s Budget Targeted Violence as well as Terrorism Prevention Grant Program Notice of Opportunity to Fund
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has released the Fiscal Year 2022 Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention (TVTP) Grant Program Notice of Funding Opportunity the program is an annual funding opportunity that is competitive that will help local communities in developing durable capabilities to stop the targeted act of violence and terrorists within the United States.
The program is run through the DHS Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships (CP3) in conjunction together with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
The program is run by the Fiscal year 2022 (FY22), Congress has allocated $20 million to CP3 and has established the following priority for the selection of awards:
- Implementing Prevention capabilities in small and mid-sized communities;
- Promoting Equity in Awards and engaging communities in prevention;
- The Internet as a Source of Terrorism and Violence Targeted at a Specific Location;
- Preventing Domestic Violence Extremism and
- Improved Local Threat Assessment and Management Capabilities.
Applications can be submitted on two tracks for applications:
- Promising Practices Track is to create local public health solutions to prevent violence; CP3 is identifying eight types of projects that are promising in combating targeted violence and terrorist attacks. Requestors could suggest implementing one or more of the projects within the track.
- Innovative Track to come up with new ways to reduce specific violence and terror.
One of the purposes that one of the goals for TVTP Grant Program is to aid in the identification of targeted terrorist and violence prevention best practices and to share them all over the country.
In this regard, the applicants are required to create solid logic models as well as implementation and measurement Plans (IMP).
- The application deadline was on April 12th, 2022.
- Application deadline is on Wednesday the 18th of May, 2022 at 5PM Eastern Time (All steps completed, and the final application submitted to ND Grants)
- Awards are scheduled to be announced in September 2022.
Attention – Districts are able to make use of ESSER as well as other money to make their schools safer for students and keep them away from distractions.
PROGRAM Office
Office of State and Grantee Relations, OESE
CFDA NUMBER
84.425D
PROGRAM Type
Formula Grant
3/16/22 – Bomb-threatened Historically Black schools eligible for security grants
The vice president made the announcement that historically Black universities and colleges, or HBCUs, in which the learning process was disrupted by the recent spate of threats to bombs are now qualified to receive the Project School Emergency Response to Violence grants offered by the U.S. Education Department.
Awards usually vary from $50,000 to $150,000. The money could be used to employ psychologists, increase security on campus and provide security personnel with training.
3/22/2012 3.1/22 House Homeland Leaders Introduce Legislation to Expand Security Grant Program
Nonprofit Security Grant Program Improvement Act of 2022 (H.R. 6825) is a bipartisan law to strengthen and expand The Nonprofit Security Grant Program which assists in safeguarding non-profits and churches against terror.
To meet the growing need for security grants for nonprofits financing, H.R. 6825 provides the program with $500 million per year until FY 2028.
In addition, to address the increasing demand for this program that was financed by $180 million in the previous calendar year requires FEMA to create a dedicated bureau within FEMA to manage the program and to provide more communication, engagement in education, technical assistance and support to nonprofits that are eligible.
12/23/21 12.23.21 Justice Department Awards Nearly $444 Million to Aid in Violence Intervention efforts
Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP) today announced more than $444 million in grant grants to fund a variety of efforts to reduce violence, including community-based violence prevention and intervention strategies, school and youth program to prevent violence as well as proven police and prosecutorial practices.
The funds will also be used to fund research into violence in schools, civil disturbances as well as gender-based violence.
The funds are made available through the OJP’s Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) as well as the National Institute of Justice (NIJ).ms for purposes of criminal justice. The awards were announced earlier.
When the awards are awarded and the recipients are announced, the information on the grantees who were selected in the solicitations can be found on the OJP Grant Awards page.
12/23/21 11/23/21 Justice Department Awards More Than $125 Million in Grants in the STOP School Violence Act
The Department of Justice today announced the award of $126 million to improve school safety in accordance with the STOP School Violence Act.
The grants, which were awarded through the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) as well as Department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) will assist in implementing safety measures at and around secondary and primary schools, aid in school violence prevention efforts, offer instruction to school personnel as well as students, and establish the use of evidence-based threat assessments.
The Students Teachers, Officers, and Students Preventing Schools Violence Act of 2018 (the STOP School Violence Act) give the Justice Department the authority to give grants directly to local authorities, states, units of government, Indian tribes, as well as public entities (such as school districts as well as police agencies) to enhance security in schools and on school grounds with proven school safety programs.
The Act also grants the opportunity to create a positive school environment by helping teachers and students identify, respond swiftly to, and prevent violent incidents.
The BJA annual awards, totaling 78 BJA annually awarded awards worth nearly $74 million, are designed to provide the training and education of school staff and students in protecting themselves from violence and others as well as themselves, which includes anti-bullying programs and special training for school administrators to deal with mental health emergencies.
Funds are also used to develop the multidisciplinary assessment of threats and intervention teams as well as design and develop technology solutions like anonymized reporting, hotlines and websites.
The COPS School Violence Prevention Program (SVPP) can provide the possibility of up to 75% funds for security measures in schools within and around secondary and primary schools.
The grants of 153 SVPP awards, amounting to nearly five million dollars, statutorily required to be used to coordinate with law enforcement, training for local law enforcement officials to stop student violence; locking mechanisms or lighting as well as other measures to deter violence as well as technology to expedite the notification by local police officers in an emergency; and various other measures that result in a substantial increase in security.
The complete list of SVPP awards is available here..
A complete list of BJA awards, in the order they are awarded is available here..
The COPS Office is the federal element that is part of the Department of Justice responsible for improving the effectiveness of community policing across the country.
It is the only Department of Justice agency with the word “policing” as its title The COPS Office was established in 1994 and has since become the foundation of our nation’s crime-fighting strategy , utilizing grants, a range of information resource products, as well as technical and training assistance.
Over the decades over the years, it has become the COPS Office has become the most sought-after organization for police agencies throughout the United States in order to stay on the pulse of the needs of the field and offer the necessary resources to curb crime and create confidence between police agencies and the communities they serve.
It is estimated that the COPS Office has invested more than $14 billion to improve community policing.
It has also made grants granted for more than 13000 local, state and Tribal police departments to finance the hiring and redeployment for more than 135,000 police officers.
