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 FY2018, the Trump Administration requests a total of $1.979 billion for the five DOJ grant accounts. This amount includes a total of $610.0 million in transfers from the Crime Victims Fund to three accounts: $445.0 million to Violence Against Women Programs, $73.0 million to State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance, and $92.0 million to Juvenile Justice Programs. President Trump's budget would eliminate funding for some programs, such as the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (-$210.0 million), the Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation program (-$17.5 million), and anti-methamphetamine (-$7.5 million) and anti-heroin (-$10.0 million) task forces. The budget request also includes reductions to several programs, including the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program (-$70.5 million), grants for juvenile mentoring programs (-$22.0 million), and the Comprehensive School Safety Initiative (-$30.0 million). However, the Administration requests increased funding for two programs to combat violent crime: an additional $63.5 million for Project Safe Neighborhoods and $5.0 million for a new program, the National Crime Reduction Assistance Network.
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 FY2018. The report also provides information on FY2017 appropriations for DOJ's grant programs.
The Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) was established to administer programs created under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 1994 (P.L. 103-322). 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 Trump Administration's FY2018 budget request for OVW is largely in-line with what Congress appropriated for FY2017. The Administration's budget request would cut $2.0 million from the grant program which encourages arrest policies in instances of domestic violence, $1.0 million from grants that are designed to prevent domestic violence in rural jurisdictions, and $1.5 million from grants that support efforts to expand tribal jurisdiction over certain domestic violence cases. The Administration's budget request would increase funding by $1 million for grants for states that have laws that allow women to terminate the parental rights of rapists.
The Administration proposes supplementing $35.0 million in direct appropriations for the OVW account with $445.0 million from the Crime Victims Fund. For FY2017, Congress supplemented direct appropriations for OVW with a $326.0 million transfer from the Crime Victims Fund.1
Table 1. Appropriations for the Office on Violence Against Women Programs, FY2017 and FY2018
Appropriations in millions of dollars
|
Program |
FY2017 Enacted |
FY2018 Administration's Request |
FY2018 House Reported |
FY2018 Senate Reported |
FY2018 Enacted |
|
|
STOP Grants |
$215.0 |
$215.0 |
||||
|
Research and Evaluation on Violence Against Women |
3.0 |
5.0 |
|
|||
|
Transitional Housing Assistance |
30.0 |
30.0 |
|
|||
|
Grants to Encourage Arrest Policies |
53.0 |
51.0 |
|
|||
|
Homicide Reduction Initiative |
(4.0) |
(4.0) |
|
|||
|
Rural Domestic Violence and Child Abuse Enforcement Assistance Grants |
35.0 |
34.0 |
|
|||
|
Violence on College Campuses |
20.0 |
20.0 |
|
|||
|
Civil Legal Assistance |
45.0 |
45.0 |
|
|||
|
Sexual Assault Victims Services |
35.0 |
35.0 |
|
|||
|
Elder Abuse Grant Program |
5.0 |
5.0 |
|
|||
|
Education and Training for Disabled Female Victims |
6.0 |
6.0 |
|
|||
|
Research on Violence Against Indian Women |
1.0 |
1.0 |
|
|||
|
Consolidated Youth Oriented Program |
11.0 |
11.0 |
|
|||
|
National Resource Center on Workplace Responses |
0.5 |
0.5 |
|
|||
|
Indian Country Sexual Assault Clearinghouse |
0.5 |
0.5 |
|
|||
|
Family Civil Justice Program |
16.0 |
16.0 |
|
|||
|
Tribal Special Domestic Violence Criminal Jurisdiction |
4.0 |
2.5 |
|
|||
|
Rape Survivor Child Custody Act |
1.5 |
2.5 |
|
|||
|
Total: OVW |
481.5a |
480.0b |
|
Source: 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). The FY2018 requested amounts were taken from the Appendix to the President's FY2018 budget.
Note: Amounts may not add to totals due to rounding. Numbers in parentheses are set-asides.
a. This amount includes the $326.0 million transfer from the Crime Victims Fund to the Office on Violence Against Women per P.L. 115-31.
b. This amount includes a proposed $445.0 million transfer from the Crime Victims Fund.
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.
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 Administration's FY2018 request for the Research, Evaluation, and Statistics account is $22.0 million (24.7%) greater than the FY2017-enacted appropriation of $89.0 million. The increase is entirely the result of the Administration requesting funding for the Regional Information Sharing System (RISS) program under this account. For FY2017, Congress provided funding for the RISS program under the Community Oriented Policing Services account. The Administration's budget request would decrease funding for both the Bureau of Justice Statistics (-$4.5 million) and the National Institute of Justice (-$3.5 million).
Table 2. Appropriations for Research, Evaluation, and Statistics, FY2017 and FY2018
Appropriations in millions of dollars
|
Program |
FY2017 Enacted |
FY2018 Administration's Request |
FY2018 House Reported |
FY2018 Senate Reported |
FY2018 Enacted |
|
|
Bureau of Justice Statistics |
$45.5 |
$41.0 |
||||
|
National Crime Statistics Exchange (NCS-X) |
(5.0) |
— |
||||
|
National Institute of Justice |
39.5 |
36.0 |
|
|||
|
Domestic Radicalization Research |
(4.0) |
— |
|
|||
|
Regional Information Sharing System |
—a |
30.0 |
|
|||
|
Forensic Science Improvement |
4.0 |
4.0 |
|
|||
|
Total: Research, Evaluation, and Statistics |
89.0 |
111.0 |
|
Source: 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). The FY2018 requested amounts were taken from the Appendix to the President's FY2018 budget.
Notes: Amounts may not add to totals due to rounding. Numbers in parentheses are set-asides. This account provides funding for research, evaluation, and statistics programs within the Office of Justice Programs.
a. FY2017 funding for this program is provided under the Community Oriented Policing Services account. See Table 5.
The State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance (S&LLEA) 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.
For FY2018, the Trump Administration requests $940.5 million for the S&LLEA account, which includes a proposed $73.0 million transfer from the Crime Victims Fund. The Administration's budget would eliminate funding for SCAAP (-$210.0 million) and the Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation program (-$17.5 million). The budget also includes a $70.5 million reduction for JAG, $20.0 million reductions for both the DNA Analysis and Capacity Enhancement program and the Second Chance Act, and a $30.0 million reduction for the Comprehensive School Safety Initiative. The Administration also proposes to eliminate funding for the Community Trust and Opioids Initiatives, though it requests funding for many of the programs funded under both initiatives as their own line items in the S&LLEA account. The Administration proposes funding grant programs to help law enforcement agencies purchase armor vests and body-worn cameras with set-asides from the JAG program. For FY2017, both of these programs were funded as their own line items in the S&LLEA account.
The Administration's budget request would increase funding for two programs that focus on combatting violent crime. The FY2018 budget request includes $70.0 million for a program to reduce gang and gun violence, also referred to as Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). For FY2017, Congress provided $6.5 million for PSN as a set-aside from JAG. The Administration proposes changing PSN from a competitive grant program to a block grant program.2 The Administration also requests $5.0 million for a National Crime Reduction Assistance Network, which would provide training and technical assistance to cities to support violence reduction strategies. Congress did not appropriate funding for this program for FY2017.
Table 3. Appropriations for State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance, FY2017 and FY2018
Appropriations in millions of dollars
|
Program |
FY2017 Enacted |
FY2018 Administration's Request |
FY2018 House Reported |
FY2018 Senate Reported |
FY2018 Enacted |
|
|
Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants (JAG) |
$403.0a |
$332.5 |
||||
|
Improving Police Response to People with Mental Illness |
(2.5) |
— |
|
|||
|
VALOR Initiative |
(7.5) |
(15.0) |
|
|||
|
Evidence-Based Policing Initiative |
(5.0) |
(5.0) |
|
|||
|
Prosecutorial Decision-making Initiative |
(2.5) |
(4.0) |
|
|||
|
Domestic Radicalization Research |
— |
(4.0) |
|
|||
|
National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUS) |
(2.4) |
— |
|
|||
|
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) |
— |
|
|||
|
Body Worn Camera Partnership Initiative |
— |
(22.5) |
|
|||
|
Bulletproof Vests Grant Program |
— |
(22.5) |
|
|||
|
Prison Rape Prevention and Prosecution |
(10.5) |
— |
|
|||
|
Pre-inauguration Presidential Security |
(27.0) |
— |
|
|||
|
State Criminal Alien Assistance Program |
210.0 |
— |
|
|||
|
Victims of Trafficking Grants |
45.0 |
45.0 |
|
|||
|
Economic, High-Tech and, Cybercrime Prevention |
13.0 |
11.0 |
|
|||
|
IP Enforcement |
(2.5) |
— |
|
|||
|
Cybercrime Prosecutor Pilot Program |
(1.0) |
— |
|
|||
|
CASA-Special Advocates |
9.0 |
9.0 |
|
|||
|
Second Chance Act |
68.0 |
48.0 |
|
|||
|
Smart Probation |
(6.0) |
(6.0) |
|
|||
|
Children of Incarcerated Parents Demonstration Grants |
(5.0) |
(5.0) |
|
|||
|
Pay for Success |
(7.5) |
(7.5) |
|
|||
|
Project HOPE |
(4.0) |
(4.0) |
|
|||
|
Violent Gang and Gun Crime Reduction (Project Safe Neighborhoods) |
—b |
70.0 |
|
|||
|
National Criminal History Improvement |
73.0 |
68.0 |
|
|||
|
NICS Improvements Act |
(25.0) |
(15.0) |
|
|||
|
Paul Coverdell Forensic Science Grants |
13.0 |
13.0 |
|
|||
|
Implementation of the Adam Walsh Act |
20.0 |
20.0 |
|
|||
|
Children Exposed to Violence Initiative |
— |
8.0 |
|
|||
|
National Sex Offender Public Website |
1.0 |
1.0 |
|
|||
|
Bulletproof Vests Grant Program |
22.5 |
—c |
|
|||
|
Residential Substance Abuse Treatment |
—d |
12.0 |
|
|||
|
Mentally Ill Offenders Act |
—d |
10.0 |
|
|||
|
Drug Courts |
—d |
40.0 |
|
|||
|
Veterans' Treatment Courts |
—d |
6.0 |
|
|||
|
Prescription Drug Monitoring |
—d |
12.0 |
|
|||
|
Capital Litigation/ Wrongful Conviction Review |
—b |
2.5 |
|
|||
|
Prison Rape Prevention and Prosecution |
—b |
15.5 |
|
|||
|
DNA Initiatives |
125.0 |
105.0 |
|
|||
|
DNA Analysis and Capacity Enhancement |
(117.0) |
(97.0) |
|
|||
|
Post-conviction DNA Testing Grants |
(4.0) |
(4.0) |
|
|||
|
Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners |
(4.0) |
(4.0) |
|
|||
|
Grants for Community Teams to Reduce the Sexual Assault Kit Backlog |
45.0 |
45.0 |
|
|||
|
Comprehensive School Safety Initiative |
50.0 |
20.0 |
|
|||
|
Justice Reinvestment Initiative |
—e |
22.0 |
|
|||
|
National Crime Reduction Assistance Network |
— |
5.0 |
|
|||
|
Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Grant Program |
— |
20.0 |
|
|||
|
Community Trust Initiative |
65.0 |
— |
|
|||
|
Body Worn Camera Partnership Initiative |
(22.5) |
—c |
|
|||
|
Justice Reinvestment Initiative |
(25.0) |
— |
|
|||
|
Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation Program |
(17.5) |
— |
|
|||
|
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 |
1,280.5 |
940.5f |
|
Source: 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). The FY2018 requested amounts were taken from the Appendix to the President's FY2018 budget.
Note: Amounts may not add to totals due to rounding. Numbers in parentheses are set-asides. This account provides funding for state and local law enforcement assistance programs within the Office of Justice Programs.
a. This amount includes $7.0 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 FY2017, this program was funded as a set-aside from the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program.
c. Funding for this program is requested as a set-aside from the JAG program.
d. For FY2017, funding for this program was provided under the Opioid Initiative.
e. For FY2017, funding for this program was provided under the Community Trust Initiative.
f. This amount includes a proposed transfer of $73.0 million from the Crime Victims Fund.
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.
The Administration's FY2018 request for Juvenile Justice Programs is $17.5 million (-7.1%) less than the FY2017-enacted appropriation of $247.0 million. The $229.5 million the Trump Administration requests for this account includes a transfer of $92.0 million from the Crime Victims Fund. The overall reduction in funding for this account is almost solely attributable to a $22.0 million reduction in funding for youth mentoring grants. The Administration's budget request includes increases for Part B formula grants (+$3 million), Title V delinquency prevention grants (+$2.5 million), and grants to improve juvenile indigent defense (+$0.5 million).
Table 4. Appropriations for Juvenile Justice Programs, FY2017 and FY2018
Appropriations in millions of dollars
|
Program |
FY2017 Enacted |
FY2018 Administration's Request |
FY2018 House Reported |
FY2018 Senate Reported |
FY2018 Enacted |
|
|
Part B—State Formula |
$55.0 |
$58.0 |
||||
|
Emergency Planning—Juvenile Detention Facilities |
(0.5) |
(0.5) |
|
|||
|
Youth Mentoring Grants |
80.0 |
58.0 |
|
|||
|
Title V—Delinquency Prevention Grants |
14.5 |
17.0 |
|
|||
|
Gang Prevention |
(4.0) |
(5.0) |
|
|||
|
Children of Incarcerated Parents Web Portal |
(0.5) |
(0.5) |
|
|||
|
Girls in the Justice System |
(2.0) |
(2.0) |
|
|||
|
Community-Based Violence Prevention Initiative |
(8.0) |
— |
|
|||
|
Investigation and Prosecution of Child Abuse Programs |
21.0 |
20.0 |
|
|||
|
Child Abuse Training for Judicial Personnel |
2.0 |
2.0 |
|
|||
|
Missing and Exploited Children Programs |
72.5 |
72.0 |
|
|||
|
Improving Juvenile Indigent Defense Program |
2.0 |
2.5 |
|
|||
|
Total: Juvenile Justice Programs |
247.0 |
229.5a |
|
Source: 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). The FY2018 requested amounts were taken from the Appendix to the President's FY2018 budget.
Note: Amounts may not add to totals due to rounding. Numbers in parentheses are set-asides. This account provides funding for juvenile justice programs within the Office of Justice Programs.
a. This amount includes a proposed $92.0 million transfer from the Crime Victims Fund.
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 Administration requests $218.0 million for COPS for FY2018, which is $3.5 million less than the FY2017-enacted appropriation. The budget request would increase funding for the COPS Hiring Program, and within this amount it would re-establish a set-aside for assistance to tribal law enforcement. However, the budget request would eliminate funding for anti-methamphetamine and anti-heroin task forces.
Table 5. Appropriations for Community Oriented Policing Services, FY2017 and FY2018
Appropriations in millions of dollars
|
Program |
FY2017 Enacted |
FY2018 Administration's Request |
FY2018 House Reported |
FY2018 Senate Reported |
FY2018 Enacted |
|
|
COPS Hiring Program |
$194.5 |
$207.0 |
||||
|
Community Policing Development |
(5.0) |
(10.0) |
|
|||
|
Tribal Law Enforcement Assistance |
— |
(30.0) |
|
|||
|
Training and Technical Assistance on the Collaborative Reform Model |
(10.0) |
(10.0) |
|
|||
|
Regional Information Sharing System |
(35.0) |
—a |
|
|||
|
The POLICE Actb |
(7.5) |
— |
|
|||
|
Transfer to the Drug Enforcement Administration for Methamphetamine Lab Clean-Up |
10.0 |
11.0 |
|
|||
|
Anti-methamphetamine Task Forces |
7.0 |
— |
|
|||
|
10.0 |
— |
|
||||
|
Total: Community Oriented Policing Services |
221.5 |
218.0 |
|
Source: 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). The FY2018 requested amounts were taken from the Appendix to the President's FY2018 budget.
Note: Amounts may not add to totals due to rounding. Numbers in parentheses are set-asides.
a. The Administration requests funding for this program under the Research, Evaluation, and Statistics account.
b. The POLICE Act of 2016 (P.L. 114-199) allows COPS grants to be used for active-shooter training.
Author Contact Information
| 1. |
The Crime Victims Fund (CVF) was established by the Victims of Crime Act (P.L. 98-473) to provide funding for state victim compensation and assistance programs. The CVF does not receive appropriated funding. Rather, deposits to the CVF come from a number of sources including criminal fines, forfeited bail bonds, penalties, and special assessments collected by the U.S. Attorneys Offices, federal courts, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons from offenders convicted of federal crimes. For more information on the CVF, see CRS Report R42672, The Crime Victims Fund: Federal Support for Victims of Crime, by [author name scrubbed]. |
| 2. |
For many years, the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) used a formula, based on crime and population, to allocate PSN funds. Starting in FY2012, BJA chose to award PSN funds on a competitive basis to focus funding on high-performing, evidence-based programs with the greatest need. |