OJJDP FY 2021 Family-Based Alternative Sentencing Program | O OJJDP 2021 11002

Opportunity Information: Apply for O OJJDP 2021 11002

The OJJDP FY 2021 Family-Based Alternative Sentencing Program is a discretionary federal grant opportunity from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), designed to strengthen and expand sentencing options for parents involved in the criminal justice system. The core idea is to help jurisdictions either launch new family-based alternative sentencing models or improve existing ones, with the goal of reducing the harmful ripple effects that traditional sentencing can have on children and families. The program is framed within DOJ priorities that emphasize civil rights, increased access to justice, support for crime victims, public safety, and efforts that build community trust in the justice system.

This opportunity uses a cooperative agreement funding instrument, which generally means the federal agency expects to play a more active role than it would under a standard grant, often through collaboration, guidance, and ongoing involvement in project implementation. The program falls under the Law, Justice and Legal Services category and is associated with CFDA number 16.738. In practical terms, applicants should expect a focus on implementation capacity: building systems, partnerships, court or supervision practices, and service connections that allow alternative sentencing for parents to function effectively and produce measurable benefits for children, parents, and overall family stability.

Eligibility is broad and includes state governments and local governments (counties, cities or townships, and special districts), state and public institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, federally recognized tribal governments, and tribal organizations. It is also open to nonprofit organizations both with and without 501(c)(3) status, as well as for-profit organizations that are not small businesses, plus other entities as described in the solicitation's additional eligibility language. This wide eligibility range signals that OJJDP anticipated multi-sector approaches, such as collaborations among courts, corrections or community supervision, child and family service providers, universities providing evaluation support, and tribal justice systems.

The grant was posted on May 17, 2021, with an original application deadline of July 2, 2021. Awards were capped at $750,000 per award, and OJJDP expected to make about five awards. Taken together, that points to a relatively competitive national program intended to support a small number of sites with enough funding to make meaningful system improvements, rather than a large formula-style distribution.

Overall, the program is aimed at helping justice systems respond to parental criminal involvement in a way that is more attentive to family impact, particularly the needs and well-being of children. By supporting alternatives to traditional sentencing for parents, OJJDP is seeking strategies that can maintain accountability while improving outcomes such as child safety and stability, parent engagement and rehabilitation, and healthier family functioning, all while aligning with broader DOJ goals around fairness, access to justice, and community trust.

• The Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention in the law, justice and legal services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "OJJDP FY 2021 Family-Based Alternative Sentencing Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.738.
• This funding opportunity was created on May 17, 2021.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 02, 2021. (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 $750,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 5 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For profit organizations other than small businesses, Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for O OJJDP 2021 11002

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