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 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 Ohio State Administering Agency (Office of Criminal Justice Services) will use their FY 2009 Recovery Act Justice Assistance Grant funds for law enforcement, prevention and education, corrections and community corrections, prosecution, court, and victim services, and research, evaluation, and technology improvement projects and ensure that projects reflect goals that are consistent with the Recovery Act goals of preserving and creating jobs and promoting economic recovery.

Law enforcement projects will provide safety measures and meet the needs of local communities, develop enforcement and training programs that target special needs victims or offenders, and target drug and firearm traffickers, gangs, pharmaceutical diversion, terrorism, and other organized criminal activity through multi-jurisdictional collaboration. These projects will also support the Ohio Incident-Based Reporting System (OIBRS). Prevention and education projects will reduce and prevent crime and the fear of crime through collaborative prevention efforts, increase youth crime prevention programs, and provide community crime prevention initiatives. Corrections and community corrections projects will increase community-based alternatives to incarceration and detention for non-violent offenders. These projects will also implement treatment programs in residential and/or non-residential settings, establish, expand, or improve drug, mental health, and other types of specialized dockets, and provide training and technical assistance for implementation of successful interventions. Prosecution, court and victim services projects will provide court security systems, train prosecution and court personnel, and support community mediation programs that assist crime victims. Research, evaluation, and technology improvement projects will provide state and local officials and practitioners needed information on priority Ohio criminal justice issues and evaluation of programs related to Ohio criminal justice priorities. These projects will also improve criminal justice information systems to assist law enforcement, prosecution, courts, and corrections agencies with implementing a statewide criminal justice information sharing program.

NCA/NCF