FY2017 Appropriations for the Department of Justice Grant Programs

May 30, 2017 (R44430)
Jump to Main Text of Report

Contents

Tables

Summary

Each year Congress provides funding for a variety of grant programs through the Department of Justice (DOJ). These programs are used to fund state, local, and tribal governments and nonprofit organizations for a variety of criminal justice-related purposes, such as efforts to combat violence against women, reduce backlogs of DNA evidence, support community policing, assist crime victims, promote prisoner reentry, and improve the functioning of the juvenile justice system. Congress funds these programs through five accounts in the annual Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) appropriations act: Violence Against Women Programs; Research, Evaluation, and Statistics; State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance; Juvenile Justice Programs; and Community Oriented Policing Services. For FY2017, the Obama Administration requested a total of $2.361 billion for these five accounts.

The Obama Administration's FY2017 request for DOJ's grant accounts included proposals to change the funding levels of several DOJ grant programs. First, the Obama Administration proposed to transfer $326 million from the Crime Victims Fund to the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW). It also proposed to eliminate funding for the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (-$210 million), and reduce funding for other programs, such as the National Criminal History Improvement program (-$23 million), and DNA backlog reduction initiatives (-$20 million). However, the Obama Administration proposed increases for grants to encourage arrests in domestic violence cases and enforcement of protection orders (+$11 million), grants authorized under the Second Chance Act (+$32 million), and programs for children exposed to violence (+$15 million). It also proposed funding a variety of new programs and initiatives, such as the Byrne Incentive Grant program ($10 million), the Byrne Competitive Grant program ($15 million), and the Violence Reduction Network ($5 million). Finally, it proposed restoring funding to the Juvenile Accountability Block Grant (+$30 million), which was eliminated in FY2014.

Congress provided a total of $2.320 billion for DOJ's five grant accounts, an amount that is 6.7% less than the FY2016 appropriation and 1.8% less than the Administration's request. Funding for three of the five grant accounts decreased for FY2017, the exceptions being Violence Against Women Programs (+$2 million) and the Community Oriented Policing Services (+$10 million). However, the increase in funding for the Community Oriented Policing Services account is largely attributable to Congress moving funding for the Regional Information Sharing System from the Research, Evaluation, and Statistics account to the Community Oriented Policing Services account.

Congress, by and large, did not support many of the Obama Administration's proposals that would have eliminated funding for particular programs, increased funding for existing programs, or provided funding for new programs. However, Congress did adopt the proposal to supplement direct appropriations for the Office on Violence Against Women with a $326 million transfer from the Crime Victims Fund.


FY2017 Appropriations for the Department of Justice Grant Programs

Each year Congress provides funding for a variety of grant programs through the Department of Justice (DOJ). These programs provide support to state, local, and tribal governments and nonprofit organizations for a variety of criminal justice-related purposes, such as combatting violence against women, reducing backlogs of DNA evidence, supporting community policing, assisting crime victims, promoting prisoner reentry, and improving the functioning of the juvenile justice system. Congress funds these programs through five accounts in the annual Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) appropriations act:

This report provides an overview of congressional actions to fund DOJ's grant programs through these accounts for FY2017. The report also provides information on FY2016 appropriations for DOJ's grant programs.

Office on Violence Against Women (OVW)

The Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) was established to administer programs created under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 1994. These programs provide financial and technical assistance to communities around the country to facilitate the creation of programs, policies, and practices designed to improve criminal justice responses related to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.

The Obama Administration's FY2017 request for OVW was $489 million, 1.9% more than the FY2016 appropriation of $480 million. The Obama Administration also proposed transferring $326 million from the Crime Victims Fund to the OVW. The Obama Administration's FY2017 request was mostly in line with the FY2016 appropriation, but it requested increases for grants to encourage arrests in domestic violence cases and enforce protection orders (+$11 million), civil legal assistance (+$8 million), grants to combat violence on college campuses (+$6 million), grants to combat abuse against the elderly (+$1 million), and grants to strengthen tribal justice systems' response to domestic violence on tribal lands (+$3 million). Additionally, the Obama Administration proposed funding two new initiatives through set-asides from other grant programs: reducing firearm lethality in domestic violence cases and enhancing colleges' and universities' responses to instances of campus sexual assault. Finally, the Obama Administration's request proposed reducing funding for the Service-Training-Officers-Prosecutors (STOP) Formula Grant program by $15 million.

In the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017 (P.L. 115-31), Congress adopted the Obama Administration's proposal to supplement direct appropriations for OVW with a $326 million transfer from the Crime Victims Fund. However, Congress largely declined to support the rest of the Obama Administration's proposals. The act increased funding for grants to encourage arrests in domestic violence cases and enforce protection orders and grants to strengthen tribal justice systems' response to domestic violence on tribal lands, but not at the level proposed by the Obama Administration. Congress also declined to support the Obama Administration's proposal to reduce funding for STOP grants. For FY2017, Congress funded STOP grants at an amount equal to the FY2016 appropriation.

Table 1. Appropriations for Violence Against Women Programs, FY2016 and FY2017

Appropriations in millions of dollars

Program

FY2016 Enacted

FY2017 Administration's Request

FY2017 Senate Committee-Reported

FY2017 House Committee-Reported

FY2017 Enacted

STOP Grants

$215.0

$200.0

$215.0

$215.0

$215.0

Research and Evaluation on Violence Against Women

5.0

3.0

3.0

5.0

3.0

Transitional Housing Assistance

30.0

30.0

30.0

30.0

30.0

Grants to Encourage Arrest Policies

51.0

62.3

53.0

51.0

53.0

Homicide Reduction Initiative

(4.0)

(4.0)

(4.0)

(4.0)

(4.0)

Domestic Violence Firearm Lethality Reduction Initiative

(4.0)

(4.0)

Rural Domestic Violence and Child Abuse Enforcement Assistance Grants

34.0

34.0

35.0

34.0

35.0

Violence on College Campuses

20.0

26.0

20.0

20.0

20.0

Improving Campus Response to Sexual Assault

(8.0)

Civil Legal Assistance

45.0

52.5

45.0

45.0

45.0

Sexual Assault Victims Services

35.0

35.0

35.0

35.0

35.0

Elder Abuse Grant Program

5.0

6.3

5.0

5.0

5.0

Education and Training for Disabled Female Victims

6.0

6.0

6.0

6.0

6.0

Research on Violence Against Indian Women

1.0

1.0

1.0

1.0

1.0

Consolidated Youth Oriented Program

11.0

11.0

11.0

11.0

11.0

National Resource Center on Workplace Responses

0.5

0.5

0.5

0.5

0.5

Indian Country Sexual Assault Clearinghouse

0.5

0.5

0.5

0.5

0.5

Family Civil Justice Program

16.0

16.0

16.0

16.0

16.0

Tribal Special Domestic Violence Criminal Jurisdiction

2.5

5.0

4.0

5.0

4.0

Rape Survivor Child Custody Act

2.5

1.5

2.5

1.5

Victims of Trafficking Grantsa

45.0

Total: OVW

480.0b

489.0c

481.5d

527.5

481.5e

Source: The FY2016-enacted amounts were taken from the joint explanatory statement to accompany P.L. 114-113, printed in the December 17, 2015, Congressional Record (pp. H9732-H9759). FY2017-requested amounts were taken from the appendix to the Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2017. Senate committee-reported amounts were taken from S.Rept. 114-239. House committee-reported amounts were taken from H.Rept. 114-605. The FY2017-enacted amounts were taken from the joint explanatory statement to accompany P.L. 115-31, printed in the May 3, 2017, Congressional Record (pp. H3365-H3390).

Note: Amounts may not add to totals due to rounding.

a. See Table 3 for information on the FY2016 appropriation, the Administration's request, and the Senate committee-reported amounts for this program.

b. This amount includes the $379 million transfer from the Crime Victims Fund to the Office on Violence Against Women per P.L. 113-114.

c. This amount includes $326 million the Obama Administration proposed to move from the Crime Victims Fund to the Office on Violence Against Women.

d. This amount includes a proposed transfer of $379 million from the Crime Victims Fund to the Office on Violence Against Women.

e. This amount includes the $326 million transfer from the Crime Victims Fund to the Office on Violence Against Women per P.L. 115-31.

Office of Justice Programs (OJP)

The Office of Justice Programs (OJP) manages and coordinates the National Institute of Justice; Bureau of Justice Statistics; Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; Office of Victims of Crimes; Bureau of Justice Assistance; Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking; and related grant programs.

Research, Evaluation, and Statistics

The Research, Evaluation, and Statistics account (formerly the Justice Assistance account) funds the operations of the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the National Institute of Justice, among other things.

The Obama Administration requested $154 million for this account for FY2017, a 32.8% increase over the FY2016 appropriation of $116 million. It requested increases in funding for the Bureau of Justice Statistics (+$17 million) and the National Institute of Justice (+$12 million) along with a $2 million increase for the forensic sciences improvement program. The Administration requested funding for two new initiatives: a clearinghouse for information on evidence-based programs ($3 million) and an incident-based crime statistics program ($10 million). The Administration also proposed funding for research on domestic radicalization under this account rather than the State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance account.

Congress provided $89 million for the Research, Evaluation, and Statistics account for FY2017. The decrease in funding for FY2017 (-23.3%) is largely the result of Congress moving funding for the Regional Information Sharing System to the Community Oriented Policing Services account.

Table 2. Appropriations for Research, Evaluation, and Statistics, FY2016 and FY2017

Appropriations in millions of dollars

Program

FY2016 Enacted

FY2017 Administration's Request

FY2017 Senate Committee-Reported

FY2017 House Committee-Reported

FY2017 Enacted

Bureau of Justice Statistics

$41.0

$58.0

$41.0

$48.0

$45.5

National Crime Statistics Exchange (NCS-X)

(5.0)

National Institute of Justice

36.0

48.0

36.0

40.0

39.5

Domestic Radicalization Research

(4.0)

Regional Information Sharing System

35.0

25.0

36.0

a

b

Evaluation Clearinghouse

3.0

Forensic Science Improvement

4.0

6.0

5.0

4.0

Domestic Radicalization Research

4.0

Incident-based Crime Statistics Program

10.0

National Crime Statistics Exchange (NCS-X)

5.0

Total: Research, Evaluation, and Statistics

116.0

154.0

118.0

93.0

89.0

Source: The FY2016-enacted amounts were taken from the joint explanatory statement to accompany P.L. 114-113, printed in the December 17, 2015, Congressional Record (pp. H9732-H9759). FY2017-requested amounts were taken from the appendix to the Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2017. Senate committee-reported amounts were taken from S.Rept. 114-239. House committee-reported amounts were taken from H.Rept. 114-605. The FY2017-enacted amounts were taken from the joint explanatory statement to accompany P.L. 115-31, printed in the May 3, 2017, Congressional Record (pp. H3365-H3390).

Notes: Amounts may not add to totals due to rounding.

a. The House committee-reported bill would have provided funding for this program under the Community Oriented Policing Services account. See Table 5.

b. FY2017 funding for this program is provided under the Community Oriented Policing Services account. See Table 5.

State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance

The State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance account includes funding for a variety of grant programs to improve the functioning of state, local, and tribal criminal justice systems. Some examples of programs that have traditionally been funded under this account include the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program, the Drug Courts program, the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP), and DNA backlog reduction grant programs.

The Obama Administration's FY2017 request for the State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance account was $1.098 billion, which was 22.1% less than the FY2016 appropriation of $1.409 billion. The Administration proposed eliminating funding for the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP, -$210 million); the Paul Coverdell Forensic Sciences Improvement Program (-$14 million); grants to assist trafficking victims (-$45 million); the John R. Justice program, which helps with student loan forgiveness for attorneys in public service (-$2 million); and the tribal assistance program (-$30 million). However, it proposed to fund grants to assist trafficking victims with deposits to the Crime Victims Fund. The Obama Administration also proposed to use 7% of the funding under the State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance, Juvenile Justice Programs, and Research, Evaluation, and Statistics accounts to support tribal justice programs. In addition, it proposed reducing funding for the JAG program (-$93 million, though this is largely the result of eliminating the set-aside for security at the Presidential Nominating Conventions), the National Criminal History Improvement program (-$23 million), and DNA backlog reduction initiatives (-$20 million).

While the Obama Administration proposed eliminating or reducing funding for several programs under the State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance account, it has also proposed increasing funding for reentry initiatives authorized under the Second Chance Act (+$32 million), programs for children exposed to violence (+$15 million), grants for residential substance abuse treatment (+$2 million), and programs to assist people with mental illness in the criminal justice system (+$4 million).

In addition, the Obama Administration requested funding for several new programs under the State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance account, including

Congress reduced funding for the State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance account by 9.1%, or $128 million, for FY2017. Some of the reduction is due to Congress choosing to fund several programs—Project Safe Neighborhoods, the John R. Justice program, grants for capital litigation improvement and wrongful conviction review, and programs under the Prison Rape Elimination Act—as set-asides from the JAG program instead of funding them as individual line items under the State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance account. Congress also reduced top-line funding for JAG by $73 million. After accounting for set-asides, available funding for the JAG program decreased from $347 million for FY2016 to $335 million for FY2017.

The Consolidated Appropriations Act eliminates funding for tribal assistance programs (-$30 million). However, Congress authorized DOJ to use up to 7% of the funding available under the State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance, Juvenile Justice Programs, and Community Oriented Policing Services account, with a few exceptions, for tribal justice assistance programs.

Congress also provided $103 million under the State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance account for an opioid initiative. However, most of the funding for this initiative is not new. Rather, funding for the initiative comes from the following programs: Drug Courts ($43 million), Veterans Treatment Courts ($7 million), Residential Substance Abuse Treatment ($14 million), Prescription Drug Monitoring ($14 million), and programs to address individuals with mental illness in the criminal justice system ($12 million). All of these programs were funded through the State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance account in FY2016. In addition, Congress provided $13 million under the opioids initiative for programs authorized by the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016 (P.L. 114-198). The act directs DOJ to use funding for the programs under the opioid initiative to "address opioid abuse reduction consistent with underlying program authorities."

Congress declined to fund any of the new programs proposed by the Obama Administration.

Table 3. Appropriations for State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance, FY2016 and FY2017

Appropriations in millions of dollars

Program

FY2016 Enacted

FY2017 Administration's Request

FY2017 Senate Committee-Reported

FY2017 House Committee-Reported

FY2017 Enacted

Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants (JAG)

$476.0

$383.5

$384.0

$476.0

$403.0a

State and Local Anti-terrorism training

(2.0)

State and Local Help Desk and Diagnostic Center

(2.0)

Countering Violent Extremism Training and Technical Assistance

(2.0)

Bulletproof Vest Grants Program

(22.5)

(22.5)

Improving Police Response to People with Mental Illness

(7.5)

(5.0)

(2.5)

VALOR Initiative

(15.0)

(15.0)

(15.0)

(20.0)

(7.5)

Evidence-based Policing Initiative

(5.0)

(20.0)

(10.0)

(5.0)

Prosecutorial Decision-making Initiative

(2.5)

(5.0)

(2.5)

(2.5)

Domestic Radicalization Research

(4.0)

(4.0)

Security at Presidential Nominating Conventions

(100.0)

National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUS)

(2.4)

(2.4)

(2.4)

(2.4)

Firearms Safety and Gun Locks

(1.0)

Juvenile Indigent Defense

(2.5)

Violent Gang and Gun Crime Reduction (Project Safe Neighborhoods)

(6.5)

John R. Justice Grant Program

(2.0)

Capital Litigation/ Wrongful Conviction Review

(2.5)

Prison Rape Prevention and Prosecution

(10.5)

Pre-inauguration Presidential Security

(27.0)

Byrne Incentive Grant Program

10.0

Byrne Competitive Grants

15.0

Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation Program

24.0b

John R. Justice Grant Program

2.0

2.0

c

Tribal Assistance

30.0

d

State Criminal Alien Assistance Program

210.0

100.0

273.9

210.0

Victims of Trafficking Grants

45.0

47.6

e

45.0

Residential Substance Abuse Treatment

12.0

14.0

14.0

12.0

f

Mentally Ill Offenders Act

10.0

14.0

11.0

12.0

f

Drug Courts

42.0

42.0

43.0

42.0

f

Veterans' Treatment Courts

6.0

6.0

6.0

7.0

f

Prescription Drug Monitoring

13.0

12.0

14.0

14.0

f

Prison Rape Prevention and Prosecution

10.5

10.5

12.0

c

Capital Litigation/Wrongful Conviction Review

2.5

2.0

2.5

2.0

c

Economic, High-tech and Cybercrime Prevention

13.0

15.0

14.0

13.0

IP Enforcement

(2.5)

(2.5)

Cybercrime Prosecutor Pilot Program

(1.0)

(1.0)

White Collar Crime Prevention Grants

10.0

CASA-Special Advocates

9.0

6.0

9.0

9.0

9.0

Second Chance Act

68.0

100.0

75.0

d

68.0

Smart Probation

(6.0)

(10.0)

(6.0)

(6.0)

Children of Incarcerated Parents Demonstration Grants

(5.0)

(5.0)

(5.0)

(5.0)

Pay for Success

(7.5)

(20.0)

(7.5)

(7.5)

Project HOPE

(4.0)

(4.0)

(4.0)

Permanent Supportive Housing Model

(5.0)

(10.0)

Improve Law Enforcement's Response to Children and Families

(1.3)

Project HOPE

10.0g

Justice Reinvestment Initiative

30.0b

Violent Gang and Gun Crime Reduction (Project Safe Neighborhoods)

6.5

5.0

6.5

20.0

c

National Criminal History Improvement

73.0

50.0

75.0

73.0

73.0

NICS Improvements Act

(25.0)

(25.0)

(25.0)

NICS Improvements Act

5.0

Paul Coverdell Forensic Science Grants

13.5

13.5

13.0

Implementation of the Adam Walsh Act

20.0

20.0

20.0

20.0

20.0

Programs for Children Exposed to Violence

8.0

23.0

8.0

National Sex Offender Public Website

1.0

1.0

1.0

1.0

1.0

Bulletproof Vests Grant Program

22.5

h

22.5

h

22.5

DNA Initiatives

125.0

105.0

125.0

125.0

125.0

DNA Analysis and Capacity Enhancement

(117.0)

(117.0)

(117.0)

(117.0)

Post-conviction DNA Testing Grants

(4.0)

(4.0)

(4.0)

(4.0)

Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners

(4.0)

(4.0)

(4.0)

(4.0)

Grants to reduce sexual assault kit backlogs

(20.0)

Grants for Community Teams to Reduce the Sexual Assault Kit Backlog

45.0

41.0

45.0

d

45.0

Comprehensive School Safety Initiative

75.0

75.0

75.0

75.0

50.0

Community Trust Initiative

70.0

70.0

d

65.0

Body Worn Camera Partnership Initiative

(22.5)

(22.5)

(22.5)

Justice Reinvestment Initiative

(27.5)

(25.0)

(25.0)

Research and Statistics on Community Trust

(5.0)

(5.0)

Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation Program

(15.0)

(17.5)

(17.5)

National Crime Statistics Exchange (NCS-X)

(5.0)

i

Indigent Defense

5.4

Grants for Civil Legal Aid

5.0

Program to Promote Fairness in the Criminal Justice System and Build Community Trust

20.0

Grants for Body-worn Cameras

30.0b

Implement the FBI's Next Generation Identification Program

5.0

National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUS)

2.4j

Countering Domestic Violent Extremism

6.0

Violence Reduction Network

5.0

Opioids Initiative

103.0

Residential Substance Abuse Treatment

(14.0)

Mentally Ill Offenders Act

(12.0)

Drug Courts

(43.0)

Veterans' Treatment Courts

(7.0)

Prescription Drug Monitoring

(14.0)

Other Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act Activities

(13.0)

Emergency Federal Law Enforcement Assistance

15.0

Total: State and Local Law Enforcement

1,408.5

1,097.8

1,183.6

1,199.9

1,280.5

Source: The FY2016-enacted amounts were taken from the joint explanatory statement to accompany P.L. 114-113, printed in the December 17, 2015, Congressional Record (pp. H9732-H9759). FY2017-requested amounts were taken from the appendix to the Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2017. Senate committee-reported amounts were taken from S.Rept. 114-239. House committee-reported amounts were taken from H.Rept. 114-605. The FY2017-enacted amounts were taken from the joint explanatory statement to accompany P.L. 115-31, printed in the May 3, 2017, Congressional Record (pp. H3365-H3390).

Note: Amounts may not add to totals due to rounding.

a. This amount includes $7 million that was appropriated pursuant to the Further Continuing and Security Assistance Appropriations Act, 2017 (P.L. 114-254) for the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program to reimburse overtime costs associated with providing security for President-elect Donald Trump that was extended until the end of FY2017 by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017 (P.L. 115-31).

b. For FY2016, this program was funded under the Community Trust Initiative.

c. For FY2017, this program was funded as a set-aside from the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program.

d. Funding for this program would have been provided under the Community Oriented Policing Services account. See Table 5.

e. Funding for this program was provided under the Office on Violence Against Women account. See Table 1.

f. For FY2017, this program was funded under the Opioids Initiative.

g. For FY2016, this program was funded as a set-aside from grants for the Second Chance Act.

h. Funding this program would have been provided as a set-aside from the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program.

i. For FY2017, this program was funded as a set-aside from funding for the Bureau of Justice Statistics. See Table 2.

j. For FY2016, this program was funded as a set-aside from the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program.

Juvenile Justice Programs

The Juvenile Justice Programs account includes funding for grant programs to reduce juvenile delinquency and help state, local, and tribal governments improve the functioning of their juvenile justice systems.

For FY2017, the Obama Administration requested $334 million for the Juvenile Justice Programs account, a 23.8% increase over the FY2016 appropriation of $270 million. The Administration's FY2017 request included proposals to increase funding for the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) Part B formula grants program (+$17 million), Title V grants (+$24.5 million), and the Community-based Violence Prevention Initiative (+$10 million). The Obama Administration also requested that funding be restored to the Juvenile Accountability Block Grants ($30 million), which were eliminated in FY2014. In addition, the Administration requested $20 million for a Smart on Juvenile Justice Initiative, which would have provided supplemental incentive grant awards to foster better outcomes for system-involved youth. Finally, the Obama Administration proposed to reduce funding for youth mentoring grants (-$32 million), investigation and prosecution of child abuse programs (-$9 million), and the missing and exploited children program (-$5 million).

Congress appropriated $247 million for the Juvenile Justice Programs account for FY2017, an 8.6% reduction compared to the FY2016 appropriation. Congress reduced funding for some programs under the Juvenile Justice Programs account: JJDPA Part B state formula grants (-$3 million), youth mentoring grants (-$10 million), and Title V grants (-$3 million). Congress also chose to fund the Community-based Violence Prevention Initiative, which was a separate line item in the Juvenile Justice Program account in FY2016, as a set-aside from the Title V grant program.

Congress declined to fund any of the new programs proposed by the Obama Administration.

Table 4. Appropriations for Juvenile Justice Programs, FY2016 and FY2017

Appropriations in millions of dollars

Program

FY2016 Enacted

FY2017 Request

FY2017 Senate Committee-Reported

FY2017 House Committee-Reported

FY2017 Enacted

Part B—State Formula

$58.0

$75.0

$63.0

$55.0

Emergency Planning—Juvenile Detention Facilities

(0.5)

(0.5)

(0.5)

Youth Mentoring Grants

90.0

58.0

75.0

90.0

80.0

Title V—Delinquency Prevention Grants

17.5

42.0

27.5

14.5

Tribal Youth

(10.0)

(10.0)

Gang Prevention

(5.0)

(5.0)

(4.0)

Children of Incarcerated Parents Web Portal

(0.5)

(0.5)

(0.5)

Girls in the Justice System

(2.0)

(2.0)

(2.0)

Juvenile Justice and Education Collaboration Assistance

(10.0)

Community-based Violence Prevention Initiative

(8.0)

Investigation and Prosecution of Child Abuse Programs

20.0

11.0

21.0

20.0

21.0

Community-based Violence Prevention Initiative

8.0

18.0

8.0

Child Abuse Training for Judicial Personnel

2.0

1.5

2.0

2.0

2.0

Missing and Exploited Children Programs

72.2

67.0

73.0

72.3

72.5

Improving Juvenile Indigent Defense Program

2.5

5.4

2.5

2.0

Juvenile Justice Accountability Block Grants

30.0

Smart on Juvenile Justice Initiative

20.0

National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention

4.0

Children of Incarcerated Parents Web Portal

0.5a

Girls in the Justice System

2.0a

Total: Juvenile Justice Programs

270.2

334.4

272.0

184.3

247.0

Source: The FY2016-enacted amounts were taken from the joint explanatory statement to accompany P.L. 114-113, printed in the December 17, 2015, Congressional Record (pp. H9732-H9759). FY2017-requested amounts were taken from the appendix to the Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2017. Senate committee-reported amounts were taken from S.Rept. 114-239. House committee-reported amounts were taken from H.Rept. 114-605. The FY2017-enacted amounts were taken from the joint explanatory statement to accompany P.L. 115-31, printed in the May 3, 2017, Congressional Record (pp. H3365-H3390).

Note: Amounts may not add to totals due to rounding.

a. For FY2016, this program was funded as a set-aside from the Title V Grant program.

Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS)

The Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Office awards grants to state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies throughout the United States so they can hire new officers, train them in community policing, purchase and deploy new crime-fighting technologies, and develop and test new and innovative policing strategies.

The Obama Administration's FY2017 request for COPS was $74 million more than the FY2016 appropriation of $212 million. The Obama Administration requested a $42 million increase in funding for the COPS hiring program. The Administration's request would also have established the Tribal Resources Grant program and training and technical assistance on COPS's collaborative reform model as separate line items in the account rather than as set-asides from the funding for the hiring program.

Congress appropriated $222 million for the COPS account for FY2017, a 4.5% increase in funding compared to the FY2016 appropriation. Congress increased funding for the COPS hiring program from $187 million to $195 million, but after set-asides are accounted for, actual funding for the hiring program remained unchanged ($137 million). Congress also provided a $3 million increase in funding for the Anti-heroin Task Forces program.

For FY2017, Congress provided funding for the Regional Information Sharing System (RISS) under the COPS account. P.L. 115-31 requires this funding to be transferred to OJP.

Congress also set-aside $8 million from the COPS hiring program for the POLICE Act of 2016 (P.L. 114-199). The act allows COPS grants to be used for active shooter training.

Table 5. Appropriations for Community Oriented Policing Services, FY2016 and FY2017

Appropriations in millions of dollars

Program

FY2016 Enacted

FY2017 Request

FY2017 Senate Committee-Reported

FY2017 House Committee-Reported

FY2017 Enacted

COPS Hiring Program

$187.0

$229.0

$187.0

$194.5

Transfer to the Tribal Resources Grant Program

(30.0)

(15.0)

(30.0)

Community Policing Development

(10.0)

(20.0)

(10.0)

(5.0)

Training and Technical Assistance on the Collaborative Reform Model

(10.0)

(10.0)

(10.0)

Promoting Diversity in Policing

(5.0)

Regional Information Sharing Systema

(35.0)

Police Act

(7.5)

Transfer to the Drug Enforcement Administration for Methamphetamine Lab Clean-up

11.0

11.0

11.0

11.0

10.0

Anti-methamphetamine Task Forces

7.0

7.0

7.0

Anti-heroin Task Forces

7.0

10.0

10.0

Training and Technical Assistance on the Collaborative Reform Model

20.0

Combatting Violent Extremism

3.0

Tribal Resources Grant Program

23.0

Community Trust Initiativeb

75.0

Body Worn Camera Partnership Initiative

(22.5)

Justice Reinvestment Initiative

(27.5)

Research and Statistics on Community Trust

(10.0)

Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation Program

(15.0)

Second Chance Actb

68.0

Grants for Community Teams to Reduce the Sexual Assault Kit Backlogb

45.0

Tribal Assistanceb

65.0

Regional Information Sharing Systema

35.0

Total: Community Oriented Policing Services

212.0

286.0

215.0

299.0

221.5

Source: The FY2016-enacted amounts were taken from the joint explanatory statement to accompany P.L. 114-113, printed in the December 17, 2015, Congressional Record (pp. H9732-H9759). FY2017-requested amounts were taken from the appendix to the Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2017. Senate committee-reported amounts were taken from S.Rept. 114-239. House committee-reported amounts were taken from H.Rept. 114-605 . The FY2017-enacted amounts were taken from the joint explanatory statement to accompany P.L. 115-31 printed in the May 3, 2017, Congressional Record (pp. H3365-H3390).

Note: Amounts may not add to totals due to rounding.

a. See Table 2 for information on the FY2016 appropriation, the Administration's request, and the Senate committee-reported amounts for this program.

b. See Table 3 for information on the FY2016 appropriation, the Administration's request, and the Senate committee-reported amounts for this program.

21st Century Justice Initiative

As a part of its FY2017 budget request for DOJ, the Administration requested $500 million for the 21st Century Justice Initiative. This proposed initiative would have been a new mandatory program that would have invested $5 billion—$500 million a year for 10 years—in criminal justice reform efforts. The initiative would have used federal funding to promote innovative approaches to reducing both crime and unnecessary incarceration. The program would have focused on achieving three objectives: reducing crime, reversing practices that have led to unnecessarily long sentences and unnecessary incarceration, and building community trust. States would have been able to use this funding to focus on one or more of the following objectives for their adult and juvenile systems: (1) examining and changing state laws and policies that contribute to unnecessarily long sentences and unnecessary incarceration, without sacrificing public safety; (2) promoting critical advancements in community-oriented policing; and (3) providing comprehensive diversion and reentry services. In addition, this initiative would have dedicated 10% of the funding for reform efforts in the federal criminal justice system, including improving skills, education, mental health, addiction, and other recidivism-reduction programming in the Bureau of Prisons.

Congress declined to provide funding for this program.

Author Contact Information

[author name scrubbed], Analyst in Crime Policy ([email address scrubbed], [phone number scrubbed])

Key Policy Staff

Area of Expertise

Name

Phone

Email

Juvenile Justice Programs

[author name scrubbed]

[phone number scrubbed]

[email address scrubbed]

Office on Violence Against Women

[author name scrubbed]

[phone number scrubbed]

[email address scrubbed]

State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance; COPS; Research, Evaluation, and Statistics

[author name scrubbed]

[phone number scrubbed]

[email address scrubbed]