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 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 Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPS) will utilize their Fiscal Year 2009 Recovery Act Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) award funds to maintain or increase public safety in Massachusetts while adhering to the stated purposes of the Recovery Act to preserve and create jobs and promote economic recovery in order to minimize and avoid reductions in essential services. EOPS will subgrant Recovery JAG to support summer youth employment programming, community-based prevention programs, district attorneys' prosecution, victim witness advocacy, and Community programs, sheriffs' Department re-entry programs, local law enforcement policing and programs, and state public safety agencies' core services. EOPS will direct the Commonwealth's Recovery JAG activities, including collaborating with other state agencies as well as working with local and community-based organizations to assure that Recovery Act funds are leveraged and maximized. To achieve their objectives for each priority, EOPS will continue to assess statewide public safety needs, hire additional staff to increase capacity to effectively manage the increased workload associated with the Recovery Act award, develop and post applications for grant funds pertinent to each priority, conduct statewide bidders' conferences, facilitate objective review processes for applications in each priority area, disseminate funds to subgrantees in an efficient and timely manner, monitor subgrantees' progress, and adhere to all the requirements of the Recovery Act.

NCA/NCF