Most OJP formula grant programs provide funding to state agencies, which may, in turn, subgrant funds to support relevant projects of local governments and private agencies.

Improving Law Enforcement and the Criminal Justice System

• The Edward Byrne Memorial State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance formula grant program provides funds to assist states and units of local government in controlling and preventing drug abuse, crime, and violence, and in improving the functioning of the criminal justice system. Byrne funds are awarded for projects addressing 26 purpose areas, including prosecution, adjudication, community crime prevention, and development of criminal justice information systems.
• The Local Law Enforcement Block Grants Program provides formula-based funding to units of local government to help reduce crime and improve public safety. Each year, BJA contacts local governments that are eligible to apply for direct awards under the program. Award amounts are determined by each local government's crime rate, as reported to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Reporting System. Local governments that qualify for awards over $10,000 receive direct awards from BJA. Each state receives LLEBG funds that can be distributed to jurisdictions that are not eligible for direct awards. The funding can be used to hire or pay overtime to police officers, establish task forces to fight multijurisdictional crime, purchase basic law enforcement equipment, and a number of other purpose areas.

Preventing Youth Violence and Improving the Juvenile Justice System

• OJJDP's Formula Grants Program, Title V Incentive Grants for Local Delinquency Prevention Programs, Enforcing the Underage Drinking Laws Program, and Part E State Challenge Grants programs support state and local efforts to improve the juvenile justice system and prevent delinquency.
• The Juvenile Accountability Incentive Block Grants program supports state and local efforts to address juvenile crime by encouraging reforms that hold all offenders accountable for their crimes.

Providing Funding for State and Local Correctional Facilities

• The Residential Substance Abuse Treatment program funds programs that provide individual and group substance abuse treatment activities for offenders in residential facilities operated by state and local correctional agencies.
• The Violent Offender Incarceration/Truth in Sentencing grant programs help states build or expand correctional facilities for adult or juvenile offenders. The Violent Offender Incarceration grant program is administered on a three-tiered formula basis, while Truth in Sentencing awards are distributed as an incentive to states for enacting sentencing reform to ensure that violent offenders serve longer portions of their sentences.

Preventing Violence Against Women

• The STOP Violence Against Women Formula Grants program supports improvements in the abilities of law enforcement to respond to violence against women, development of more effective strategies and programs to prevent violent crimes against women, and improvements in data collection and tracking systems. By law, at least a quarter of STOP funds must be dedicated to enhancing direct services for crime victims. (See also page 11.)

Assisting Crime Victims

• The Victim Assistance and Victim Compensation grant programs are funded through the Crime Victims Fund, which is derived from fines, penalty assessments, and bail forfeitures collected from federal criminal offenders (not from taxpayers). Victim Assistance subgrants provide funding for approximately 3,300 victim assistance programs, including rape crisis centers, battered women's shelters, children's advocacy centers, and victim service units within law enforcement agencies. Together, these organizations serve more than 2 million crime victims each year. State victim compensation programs serve an additional 200,000 victims annually by providing financial assistance to victims to help defray some of the economic costs of crime.

For More Information

Formula grant funds are awarded to an agency in each state designated by the governor. The amount awarded to each state under each program is available in OJP At-a-Glance. For information on how this funding is allocated within the state, contact the state agency directly. For each state, OJP maintains a list of the designated agencies for each program and the state administrators who make funding decisions. These lists of state points of contact are available through OJP's Website at www.ojp.usdoj.gov.

More detailed information about formula grant programs is available through OJP's Website, or by calling the Department of Justice Response Center at 1-800/421-6770.

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