FY 2009 Recovery Act JAG 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.

The city of Port Townsend will use its Fiscal Year 2009 Recovery Act JAG award to provide support to the Substance Abuse Advisory Board (SAAB) in Jefferson County by the city of Port Townsend and the Port Townsend Police Department by extending successful drug abuse programs consistent with the objectives of the Recovery Act JAG grant. The specific objectives within this grant are to develop and promulgate the two-year revision of the six-year strategic plan, provide capacity building training to the SAAB so that it can facilitate and coordinate drug abuse prevention and recovery programs through advanced project management and fundraising techniques, create a viable coordinating taskforce that meets the criteria for program management required for funding multi-year drug abuse prevention and treatment projects, implement the Six-Year Plan objectives to the fullest extent possible within the available funding levels, and to extend the contracts of the substance-abuse personnel in programs that are to be reduced or eliminated due to budget shortfalls.

NCA/NCF