FY 2009 Recovery Act Justice Assistance Grant Program

This grant program is authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5) (the 'Recovery Act') and by 42 U.S.C. 3751(a). The stated purposes of the Recovery Act are: to preserve and create jobs and promote economic recovery; to assist those most impacted by the recession; to provide investments needed to increase economic efficiency by spurring technological advances in science and health; to invest in transportation, environmental protection, and other infrastructure that will provide long-term economic benefits; and to stabilize state and local government budgets, in order to minimize and avoid reductions in essential services and counterproductive state and local tax increases. The Recovery Act places great emphasis on accountability and transparency in the use of taxpayer dollars.

Among other things, it creates a new Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board and a new website ' Recovery.gov ' to provide information to the public, including access to detailed information on grants and contracts made with Recovery Act funds.

The Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program funded under the Recovery Act is the primary provider of federal criminal justice funding to state and local jurisdictions. Recovery JAG funds support all components of the criminal justice system, from multi-jurisdictional drug and gang task forces to crime prevention and domestic violence programs, courts, corrections, treatment, and justice information sharing initiatives. Recovery JAG funded projects may address crime through the provision of services directly to individuals and/or communities and by improving the effectiveness and efficiency of criminal justice systems, processes, and procedures.

Suffolk County, through the Suffolk County Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC), will use its Fiscal Year 2009 Recovery Act JAG funds in the amount of $1,318,843 to support ten initiatives identified by CJCC members. CJCC is comprised of all county law enforcement agencies, service provider agencies, and representatives from the community. The first grant funded project will be to create a full-time position within the CJCC to administer grant funds, oversee all programmatic activities, report on grant progress, collect data, and evaluate program effectiveness. Funds will also be applied towards the purchase of a customized vehicle for the Sheriff's Office designed to serve as an on-the-scene DWI processing center for vehicle checkpoints, and a rapid response vehicle for the Police Department's Emergency Service Section. The salaries of a full-time forensic scientist specializing in ballistics, a consulting psychologist to provide assessments for offenders with mental illnesses referred by the Mental Health Court and Probation Department, a nurse practitioner for the Day Reporting Center to provide assessment and medication monitoring, two clerical staff responsible for the transfer of data into electronic formats, a detective investigator and investigative auditor assigned to the sales tax fraud team in the District Attorney's Office, a researcher to gather data on gun activity within the county, and a social worker to provide mental health assessment and treatment to youth referred through the Family Court will also be supported.

NCA/NCF