This report covers the final FY 2014 funding levels for selected programs of particular interest to tribes and Indian organizations in the Department of Justice (DOJ). The DOJ funding is included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014 (Act) (HR 3547, PL 113-76) which was signed into law on January 17, 2014. The Act provides funding for what would normally be all 12 separate appropriations bills. A Joint Explanatory Statement accompanies the Act, rather than a formal conference report. The Senate Report for Commerce-Justice-State appropriations is Senate Report 113-78 and the House Committee Report is H. Rpt. 113-171. These documents may be accessed on Congress’s website: Thomas.loc.gov
In this Memorandum, the term “FY 2013 Enacted” is the pre-sequestration level for FY 2013.
The FY 2014 discretionary funding level for DOJ is $27.4 billion. While that amount is $338 million over the FY 2013 enacted level, it does not nearly compensate for the $1.6 billion FY 2013 sequestration. The Administration requested $27.6 billion for FY 2014 Department of Justice (DOJ) discretionary funding level. We report below on the recommended funding levels for selected DOJ programs of interest to tribes.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN PREVENTION AND PROSECUTION PROGRAMS
FY 2013 Enacted $408 million
FY 2014 Admin. Request $412 million
FY 2014 Enacted $417 million
Within the total is:
• $38 million for grants to tribal governments
• $6 million for the Indian Coalition Grants program
• $2.7 million for tribes under the Sexual Assault Services Program
• $1 million for research on violence against Indian women, and
• $500,000 to continue development a national clearinghouse on the sexual assault of American Indian and Alaska Native women
Other programs under the Violence Against Women Program are:
• Services, Training, Officers, & Prosecutors (STOP) Grants — $193 million, $3 million over the FY 2013 enacted level. These are formula grants to states.
• Transitional Housing Assistance for Homeless Victims — $24.7 million
• Grants to Encourage Arrest Policies — $50 million
• Rural Domestic Violence Assistance Grants — $36 million
• Violence on College Campuses — $9 million
• Civil Legal Assistance — $37 million
• Sexual Assault Victims Services Program — $27 million
• Elder Abuse Grants Program — $4.25 million
• Education and Training for Disabled Female Victims — $5.75 million
• National Resource Center on Workplace Responses — $500,000
• Family Civil Justice Program — $15 million
• Consolidated Youth-Oriented Program — $10 million
OFFICE OF JUSTICE PROGRAMS
Research, Evaluation & Statistics
(Administered by the Bureau of Justice Assistance)
FY 2013 Enacted $124.4 million
FY 2014 Admin. Request $134.4 million
FY 2014 Enacted $120.0 million
State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance
FY 2013 Enacted $1.12 billion
FY 2014 Admin. Request $1.00 billion
FY 2014 Enacted $1.17 billion
Specific amounts within the above total include:
Tribal Law Enforcement Assistance
FY 2013 Enacted $38 million
FY 2014 Admin. Request *set-aside (see below)
FY 2014 Enacted $30 million
The Administration proposed bill language, as it did in FYs 2012-2013, that would provide a seven percent allocation for tribal criminal justice assistance, in lieu of dedicated amounts under State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance and Juvenile Justice. The DOJ anticipated that Indian Country Initiatives would be funded at $102.5 million through the set-aside, an estimated $64.5 million increase over the amount provided under the separate line-item basis in prior years. The final bill does not adopt this approach, although the Senate Committee had recommended a five percent allocation.
The House Committee report states:
The Committee expects OJP to consult closely with tribal stakeholders in determining how tribal assistance funds will be allocated among grant programs that improve public safety in tribal communities, such as grants for detention facilities under section 20109 of subtitle A of title II of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (Public Law 103-322), civil and criminal legal assistance as authorized by title I of Public Law 106-559, tribal courts, and alcohol and substance abuse reduction assistance programs. The Committee directs OJP to submit, no later than 45 days after enactment of this Act, an allocation of funds that has been informed by such consultation. The Committee notes that the recommendation includes additional grant funding for tribal law enforcement programs through OVW. (H. Rpt. 113-171, p. 54)
Edward Byrne Competitive Grants
FY 2013 Enacted $15 million
FY 2014 Admin. Request $15 million
FY 2014 Enacted $13 million
Funds may be used for a variety of purposes including preventing crime, improving the administration of justice, and providing services to crime victims. Tribal governments are among those eligible to apply for these funds.
Bulletproof Vests Partnerships
FY 2013 Enacted $24.0 million
FY 2014 Admin. Request –0–
FY 2014 House Enacted $22.5 million
This program, formerly funded under the COPS Programs, reimburses law enforcement agencies (including tribal programs) for up to 50 percent of the cost of each vest purchased for eligible public safety officers.
Implementation of the Adam Walsh Act
The Act provides $20 million, the same as the budget request and the FY 2013 level. This is a discretionary grant program that funds start-up and ongoing maintenance costs associated with implementation of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).
Attorney General’s Initiative on Children Exposed to Violence
The Act provides $8 million of the Administration-requested $23 million for this joint initiative with the Department of Health and Human Services. The FY 2013 level was $10 million.
Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants.
The Act provides $376 million for these grants, and the Joint Explanatory Statement gives this instruction:
Funding is not available for luxury items, real estate or construction projects. The Department should expect State, local and tribal governments to target funding to programs and activities that are in conformance with evidence-based strategic plans developed through broad stakeholder involvement. The Committee directs the Department to make technical assistance available to State, local and tribal governments for the development or updating of such plans. Furthermore, the Committee has become aware that some States have match requirements on their Byrne-JAG subgrant awards to local entities, even though the Federal JAG program funds awarded to States require no such match requirement. The Committee urges DOJ to work with States to find alternatives to imposing a match requirement on sub-grantees, which are often disadvantaged and small local communities and law enforcement organizations. (S. Rpt. 113-78, pp. 87-88)
National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) Initiative Grants.
The Act consolidates the National Criminal History Improvement Program and the NICS Act Record Improvement Program and provides $58.5 million, $40 million increase over FY 2013 (the DOJ did reprogram an additional $14 million into the program in FY 2013) over last year. The Joint Explanatory Statement explains:
These funds will strengthen NICS by assisting States in finding ways to add more records to the system, especially mental health records. This will help close gaps in Federal and State records currently available in NICS, which hinder the ability to confirm quickly whether a prospective purchaser is prohibited from acquiring a firearm.
Drug Courts and Mentally Ill Offender Act Programs.
Congress rejected the Administration’s proposal to consolidate the Drug Courts and the Mentally Ill Offender Act programs. The Administration had said such a consolidation would “help state, local, and tribal governments develop multi-faceted strategies that together bring criminal justice (particularly the courts), social services, and public health agencies, as well as community organizations to develop system-wide responses to offender risks.”
The Act provides $40.5 million for Drug Courts ($35 million in FY 2013) and $8.2 million for Mentally Ill Offender Act programs ($9 million in FY 2013).
Vision 21: Transforming Victim Services. The Administration had requested $45 million (including a $20 million tribal allocation) as a set-aside from the Crime Victims Fund for a new planning initiative for research, evaluation, training and provision of victim services. The Act instead provides $12.5 million from discretionary funds for Vision 21. The Senate Committee states:
Rather than follow the administration’s proposal to fund this program out of the mandatory Crime Victims Fund, the Committee chooses to provide funding through discretionary resources. The Committee encourages the Department to work with Congress on legislation that will best meet the needs of crime victims in the 21st century.
Vision 21 is a strategic planning initiative based on an 18-month national assessment led by OVC that analyzed existing and chronic gaps, emerging challenges, and opportunities in crime victim assistance. The Committee supports Vision 21’s goals of funding initiatives that will address the need for more data-driven research and evaluation on victimization and services; holistic legal assistance for crime victims; resources to reach tribal and rural victims in areas where service providers do not exist; support of national emergency hotlines, online, and other programs that serve American crime victims at the national and international level; and capacity building to provide technology- and evidence-based training and technical assistance. (S.Rept.113-78, p. 92-93)
Comprehensive School Safety Initiative. The Administration had requested $150 million to fund a new Comprehensive School Safety program. The Act provides $75 million for this purpose under State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance. Bill language allocated $50 million for pilot grants for schools and $25 million for research and evaluation. The Joint Explanatory Statement reads, in part:
The agreement includes $75,000,000 for a Comprehensive School Safety Initiative, a research-focused initiative to increase the safety of schools nationwide. The Initiative shall bring together the Nation’s best minds to research the root causes of school violence, develop technologies and strategies for increasing school safety, and provide pilot grants to test innovative approaches to enhance school safety across the Nation. The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) shall develop and implement the Initiative and shall report to the Committees on Appropriations no later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act on its implementation plans.
NIJ shall collaborate with key partners from law enforcement, mental health, and education disciplines to develop a strategy and model for comprehensive school safety. The model should take into account concerns about the “school-to-prison” pipeline discussed in the Senate report. NIJ shall provide to the Committees on Appropriations a report detailing the results of this effort and an outline of the model not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act. Immediately following the development of this model the NIJ shall make it available via the Department of Justice website.
COMMUNITY ORIENTED POLICING SERVICE (COPS) GRANTS
FY 2013 Enacted $218 million
FY 2014 Admin. Request $439 million
FY 2014 Enacted $214 million
COPS Hiring Program
FY 2013 Enacted $166 million
FY 2014 Admin. Request $257 million
FY 2014 Enacted $180 million
These funds are used to award hiring grants to state, local, and tribal law enforcement programs to assist in meeting the Administration’s goal of increasing the number of community policing officers throughout the country. The Administration proposed bill language to allow up to $50 million of these funds to be used for hiring non-sworn law enforcement personnel (i.e., crime and intelligence analysts, etc.), but the final bill does not include that proposal.
COPS Tribal Hiring. The Act provides $16.5 from within the above COPS Hiring Grants total to be transferred to the Tribal Resources Grant Program (TRGP). Bill language provides that the funds are “for improving tribal law enforcement including hiring, equipment, training, and anti-methamphetamine activities.”
COPS Policing Development Initiative. Within the COPS Hiring total, the Act provides $7.5 million for the Policing Development Initiative. This compares to a FY 2013 allocation of $10 million and the Administration’s request of $15 million for this purpose. Grant funds are provided to state, local, and tribal governments to implement community policing through training and technical assistance, and innovative community policing strategies, among other things.
Methamphetamine Clean-Up
FY 2014 Admin. Request $12.5 million
FY 2014 House Enacted $10.0 million
These funds are transferred to the Drug Enforcement Administration to provide grants to state and local law enforcement for activities related to the removal and disposal of hazardous materials from meth labs. Tribal governments and territories are eligible for these grants.
JUVENILE JUSTICE PROGRAMS
FY 2013 Enacted $274 million
FY 2014 Admin. Request $332 million
FY 2014 Enacted $254 million
Juvenile Delinquency Incentive Grants. The Act provides $15 million for these grants and included in it is $ 5million for tribal youth grants ($10 million in FY 2013). Funds may be used for delinquency prevention, alcohol and substance abuse prevention and other programs intended for at-risk youth.
Victims of Child Abuse Programs. The Act provides $19 million, slightly more than the FY 2013 level. The Administration did not request any FY 2014 funds. These funds are allocated for several programs, including the Regional Child Advocacy Centers of joint initiatives, including the support and development of tribal CACs.
Youth Mentoring. The Act provides $88.5 million which is $10 million over FY 2013 and $30 million above the requested level. Senate Committee bill would provide. Funds are used for competitive grants to support national, regional and local organizations in nurturing and mentoring at-risk children and youth.
Other. Other programs funded under Juvenile Justice include State Formula grants ($55 million) and Missing and Exploited Children programs ($67 million).
Please let us know if we may provide additional information regarding FY 2014 appropriations for the Department of Justice.
