Award Information
Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2009, $21,400,860)
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 Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Criminal Justice (LCLE) is the State Administering Agency for the FY 2009 Recovery Act JAG funds. These funds will be used to assist state agencies and units of local government in carrying out specific programs that help prevent, fight, and prosecute crime and offer a high probability of improving the functioning of the criminal justice system through preserving and creating jobs and promoting economic recovery and stabilizing state and local government budgets. Louisiana's strategy to address the areas of greatest need within the state is to: 1) establish and/or continue programs to impact drug control and violent or non-violent crime and related prosecution problems of the local jurisdictions across the state, as well as projects that improve the criminal justice system and provide for effective coordination of efforts; 2) address recidivism by strengthening those areas of the criminal justice system where emphasis on prevention of crime and drug abuse intervention, treatment, and rehabilitation has been deficient; and 3) respond to the need for specialized law enforcement and prosecutorial training for law enforcement, prosecution, judicial system improvements, and for enhancement of forensics laboratories. LCLE will distribute $19,688,791 of the state's allocation of Recovery Act JAG funds to state and local jurisdictions. Subrecipients will be selected competitively based on the priority areas of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and the purpose areas authorized through the JAG Program. Eight percent (or $1,712,069) of the Recovery Act JAG funds awarded to the state of Louisiana will be utilized for administrative purposes.
NCA/NCF