Grants to USA State Agencies to Repay Public Defender Student Loans

John R. Justice (JRJ) Formula Grant Program

Agency

Federal

GrantWatch ID#

152339

Funding Source

U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA)

CFDA Number: 16.816

Funding or PIN Number: O-BJA-2023-171770

Geographic Focus

All USA
USA Territories: American Samoa (USA); Guam (USA); Puerto Rico (USA); Virgin Islands (USA); Northern Mariana Islands (USA);

Important Dates

Deadline: 08/15/23 8:59 PM ET - Grants.gov deadline; 8/22/23 8:59 PM ET - JustGrants deadline

Grant Description

Grants to USA and territories state government agencies to provide public defenders with financial assistance for tuition payments. Applicants are advised that required registrations may take several weeks to complete. Those who receive the financial assistance must commit to serving in the role for a minimum of 36 months.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) seeks applications for funding under the John R. Justice (JRJ) Grant Program, which provides student loan repayment assistance for local, state, and federal public defenders and local and state prosecutors who commit to extended service in those roles. This program furthers the DOJ’s mission by assisting in the recruitment and retention of qualified attorneys to enhance the efficacy of the criminal justice system.

The purpose of the JRJ Grant Program is to encourage qualified individuals to enter and continue employment as prosecutors and public defenders.

Goals: For all states and territories to be able to recruit and retain talented (and eligible) local, state, and federal public defenders and local and state prosecutors by setting up and maintaining a student loan repayment assistance program for attorneys with the most student loan financial burden who agree to commit to extended employment in public interest law.

The objective of the JRJ Grant Program is to offer an incentive to allow jurisdictions to attract and retain qualified local, state, and federal public defenders and local and state prosecutors who commit to extended employment in those roles and continue in that capacity for a minimum of 36 months.

Recipient

Eligibility

State governments

Additional Eligibility Criteria

Eligible Applicants: State governments, Other

Applicants are limited to state and U.S. territory government agencies designated by their governor (or the mayor of the District of Columbia) to administer the JRJ Grant Program. The states, territories, and the District of Columbia will make loan payments directly to the institutions holding loans on behalf of eligible beneficiaries.

Pre-Application Information

Grants.gov Deadline: August 15, 2023, 8:59 PM ET
Application JustGrants Deadline: August 22, 2023 8:59 PM ET

Applications will be submitted to DOJ in two steps:
Step 1: The applicant must submit by the Grants.gov deadline the required Application for Federal Assistance standard form (SF)-424 and a Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (SF-LLL) form when they register in Grants.gov at https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/register.html. Submit the SF-424 and SF-LLL as early as possible, but no later than 48 hours before the Grants.gov deadline. To register in Grants.gov, the applicant will need to ensure that its System for Award Management (SAM) registration is current.

Step 2: The applicant must then submit the full application including attachments in JustGrants at JustGrants.usdoj.gov. To be considered timely, the full application must be submitted in JustGrants by the JustGrants application deadline. OJP encourages applicants to review the “How to Apply” section in the OJP Grant Application Resource Guide and the JustGrants website for more information, resources, and training.

Prior to registering in Grants.gov:
- Confirm your Entity’s System Award Management (SAM) Registration Information (https://sam.gov/SAM/) (see OJP Grant Application Resource Guide)
To register in Grants.gov:
- Acquire an Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) and a Grants.gov username and password (see OJP Grant Application Resource Guide)
- Acquire AOR confirmation from the E-Business Point of Contact (E-Biz POC) (see OJP Grant Application Resource Guide)

View this opportunity on Grants.gov: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=348213

For a list of relevant application documents, go to the Package tab (press Preview) on the Grants.gov link above.

Additional Funding Information

Estimated Total Program Funding:

$4,458,457

Number of Grants

Estimated Size of Grant

Award Ceiling: $80,000
Award Floor: $0

Term of Contract

Period of performance start date: October 1, 2023
Period of performance duration: 24 months

Contact Information

JustGrants: https://justicegrants.usdoj.gov/

For assistance with the requirements of this solicitation, contact the OJP Response Center at 800-851-3420, 301-240-6310 (TTY for hearing-impaired callers only), or grants@ncjrs.gov. The OJP Response Center hours of operation are 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. eastern time (ET) Monday–Friday, and 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET on the solicitation close date.

SAM.gov - contact the SAM Help Desk (Federal Service Desk), Monday – Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET at 866-606-8220.

Grants.gov - contact the Grants.gov Customer Support Hotline, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, except on federal holidays, at 800-518-4726, 606-545-5035, or support@grants.gov.

JustGrants - contact the JustGrants Service Desk at JustGrants.Support@usdoj.gov or 833-872-5175, Monday – Friday from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET and Saturday, Sunday, and Federal holidays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET.

If an applicant has technical issues with SAM.gov or Grants.gov, the applicant must contact the OJP Response Center at grants@ncjrs.gov within 24 hours of the Grants.gov deadline to request approval to submit after the deadline.

If an applicant has technical issues with JustGrants that prevent application submission by the deadline, the applicant must contact the OJP Response Center at grants@ncjrs.gov within 24 hours of the JustGrants deadline to request approval to submit after the deadline.

Grants to USA State Agencies to Repay Public Defender Student Loans

John R. Justice (JRJ) Formula Grant Program

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