BJA FY 17 John R. Justice Program | BJA 2017 11361

Opportunity Information: Apply for BJA 2017 11361

The BJA FY 17 John R. Justice (JRJ) Program is a federal grant opportunity from the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), focused on a very practical workforce problem in the criminal justice system: keeping experienced prosecutors and public defenders in public service. The program is built around the idea that student loan debt has become one of the biggest barriers to recruiting and retaining qualified attorneys in these roles. As law school costs have risen and salaries in many prosecutor and public defender offices have not kept pace, many lawyers who would otherwise commit to public service either never enter these offices or leave after a short period to pursue higher-paying private sector work. The grant is meant to reduce that pressure by supporting loan repayment assistance, helping offices maintain staffing levels and avoid the downstream effects of attorney shortages, such as overwhelming caseloads, burnout, and potential impacts on public safety, case outcomes, and public confidence in the justice system.

Funding under this opportunity is awarded at the state and territory level, rather than directly to individual offices or attorneys. BJA makes awards to the agency in each eligible state or territory that is formally designated by the Governor (and in Washington, D.C., by the Mayor) to administer the JRJ Program. That designated agency is responsible for establishing and maintaining a statewide JRJ Grant Program consistent with the governing statute and the guidance in the solicitation. In other words, the federal government funds a statewide administrator, and that administrator then runs the program within its jurisdiction and distributes the benefit to eligible recipients working as prosecutors or public defenders.

The opportunity is categorized as a discretionary grant in the Law, Justice and Legal Services funding area (CFDA 16.816). The eligible applicant type is listed as "Others," but in practice eligibility is tightly defined: applicants must be the Governor-designated (or Mayor-designated) administering agency for JRJ in the relevant state, territory, or the District of Columbia. The funding opportunity number is BJA 2017 11361. The solicitation was created on 2017-06-02 and originally closed on 2017-07-18. BJA anticipated making about 21 awards, with an award ceiling of $200,000 per award, reflecting the program's structure of issuing one award per participating jurisdiction to support statewide administration and loan repayment assistance for eligible attorneys.

At its core, the JRJ Program is intended to stabilize and strengthen the justice system workforce by easing the financial burden that pushes talented lawyers away from public defense and prosecution. By helping jurisdictions offer meaningful loan repayment support, the program aims to improve recruitment, increase retention, reduce excessive caseload pressures, and support the fair and effective administration of justice across states and territories.

• The Bureau of Justice Assistance in the law, justice and legal services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "BJA FY 17 John R. Justice Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.816.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2017-06-02.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2017-07-18. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $200,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 21 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for BJA 2017 11361

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