Alternatives to BJS FY 2026 Consolidated National Criminal History Improvement Program

This program focuses on enhancing the technical capacity and efficiency of the NIBRS Estimation System, improving the timeliness of crime and arrest estimates, refining measurement methodologies and supporting state UCR program work.

This opportunity seeks to provide support to further the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS)’s mission to produce accurate and timely statistics on recidivism and criminal histories of offenders. The focus of the work is to assist BJS with converting state- and federal-specific fields in criminal history records into research datasets with standardized codes that support statistical analysis and to provide support with multiple recidivism statistics and research projects. BJS uses criminal history data collected from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and state record repositories to study recidivism patterns and criminal careers of various offenders, including persons on probation or discharged from prison. Each state has a central repository that maintains criminal history records within their jurisdiction and operates a system for disseminating those records. The FBI also maintains a repository from the federal justice system and U.S. territories. The repository also contains records from state, local, and tribal agencies that the FBI is responsible for disseminating. The content of these administrative records varies among FBI and state repositories and the recipient of funds will assist BJS with converting these data into datasets for statistical analysis. The recipient will also assist with multiple recidivism statistics and research projects. Prior CHRARP programs developed programs, codes, and crosswalks tables. The crosswalk tables hold BJS’s national recode of state- and federal-specific data fields found in the rap sheet datasets which provide consistent data coding across studies and reduce the time and effort to standardize a subsequent parsed dataset when the text fields (e.g., offense and court descriptions) in the criminal history data match the same text fields encountered in datasets from previous studies. The 2026 CHRARP will continue building upon the work of the prior CHRARP programs (CCHRRD, and the 2015 and 2020 CHRARPs) by refining state crosswalks, increasing accuracy of codes to process the criminal history records, and data analysis. Information about these prior programs is available in the full funding opportunity description. The 2026 CHRARP will thoroughly examine the content and attributes of the criminal history data, identifying and documenting differences in the composition of the arrest, prosecution, court, and supervision information within and across jurisdictions. The recipient will work with BJS to identify potential data quality issues and obtain feedback from federal, state, and tribal agencies as needed about these issues. The recipient will develop methods to successfully transform 100% of the data fields found in the parsed rap sheet datasets into BJS’s standardized values and work with BJS to identify existing offense classification tables from state and federal agencies and prior CHRARP projects that could assist with the standardization tasks for this project. Applicants are encouraged to propose cost-efficient methods and innovative solutions to convert state- and federal-specific data fields into a uniform coding structure and account for variations in administrative records when analyzing multistate data.

The ASPP collection is BJS’s most comprehensive source of information on persons under community supervision, which accounts for the largest segment of the adult correctional population in the United States. At yearend 2023, more than two-thirds of persons under correctional supervision were supervised in the community on probation or parole (3,772,000), while almost one-third (1,852,900) were incarcerated in state or federal prisons or local jails. The ASPP collection fills a valuable role by measuring the number of persons under community supervision each year, the change in this number and factors associated with the change (such as movements onto and off community supervision), the characteristics of this population, and outcomes of supervision. Because these surveys measure the vast majority of the U.S. correctional population, the ASPP—and the Annual Probation Survey in particular—are the most complex and difficult of BJS’s annual correctional surveys. The goal of the ASPP is to accurately report on the number of individuals who are involved with correctional supervision in the community. Data are collected as a census from the known universe of probation and parole supervising agencies, using central reporters wherever possible to minimize burden on the public. The Annual Surveys of Probation and Parole collect data through the Annual Survey of Parole (CJ-7) sent to 52 agencies, the Annual Survey of Probation (CJ-8) sent to 229 central reporting agencies and those supervising at least one person on felony probation, and the Annual Survey of Probation-Misdemeanor Supervision (CJ-8M) sent to about 548 agencies supervising people on misdemeanor probation only. BJS collects data from state-level respondents in an effort to reduce burden whenever possible. The nature of the data collection presents a number of challenges, which BJS is continually working to address. These surveys collect information from both large and small agencies, which are located at various levels and branches of government and have highly diverse data record systems and resources. One challenge facing the collection is determining the quality of data when some respondents report the population as a count of supervised individuals and others report the number of cases probation or parole officers handle. BJS continuously seeks to improve the Annual Probation Survey in response to different populations. BJS anticipates making one award to cover the data collection, processing, and analysis activities for five reference years of ASPP data, 2026–2030. It is likely that this will be one award covering all five years. The project will begin October 1, 2026, and end September 30, 2031.

This program will continue to support activities under the National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP), the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) Act Record Improvement Program (NARIP), and portions of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (Pub. L. 117-159) in fiscal year (FY) 2024. Direct technical assistance is provided to states, territories, and tribal jurisdictions to ensure that records systems are developed and managed to conform to FBI standards, ensure jurisdictions are using the most appropriate technologies, and adhere to the highest standards of practice with respect to privacy and confidentiality. This program also routinely collects and evaluates performance measures to assess the level of improvement of state and national records holdings, as well as information sharing and exchanges. BJS has supported the NCHIP TTA program since 1995. This program furthers the DOJ’s mission to reduce violent crime and address gun violence by improving the accuracy, utility, and interstate accessibility of criminal-history and related records in support of national record systems and their use for name- and fingerprint-based criminal history background checks.

This is a notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) for the OVC FY 2026 Preventing Trafficking of Girls. This opportunity will support prevention and early intervention services for girls who are at risk of, or are victims of, human trafficking as defined by 22 U.S.C. § 7102(11).

AMS will award these funds competitively to at least one eligible organization that meets program requirements and whose expertise is consistent with the purpose of the grant program. The selected grant recipient(s) will provide management, oversight, consultation and expertise necessary to advance the purpose and activities of the program, primarily through a subaward program to support cold storage within the middle of the supply chain. These equipment investments will be made through subawards to food banks, faith-based organizations, and other public or private nonprofit organizations that provide nutrition assistance, such as prepared meals or food for use at home, to people with low-income or challenging financial circumstances.

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announces the opportunity to apply for competitive awards totaling up to $10 million in Public Transportation Innovation Program (49 U.S.C. 5312) funds for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Bus Safety, Accessibility, and Innovation Research Program under Assistance Listing Number 20.530. As required by Federal public transportation law, funds will be awarded competitively to up to two projects to develop and prototype innovative and widely deployable concepts that are intended to make existing and new buses safer for their operators and vulnerable road users, and safer and more accessible for their passengers. 

The Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP) is a Federal formula grant program that provides financial assistance to States, and U.S. Territories to reduce the number and severity of crashes, injuries, and fatalities and hazardous material incidents involving commercial motor vehicles.

The opportunity for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Center of Excellence for Alternative Jet Fuel and Environment (AJFE) was awarded in 2013 to the ASCENT cooperative aviation research organization. ASCENT is a coalition of 16 leading US research universities committed to improving the understanding of aviation noise and emissions and the modeling of aviation systems. ASCENT is co-led by Washington State University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (https://ascent.aero/). Any new grant opportunities under AJFE are open and available only to the university members of ASCENT.”

The United States Marine Highway Program (USMHP), codified at 46 U.S.C. 55601, was originally established by Section 1121 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to reduce landside congestion through the designation of Marine Highway Routes. The USMHP statute authorizes the U.S. Department of Transportation (“Department” or “DOT”) to make grants to implement Projects or components of Projects that 1) provide a coordinated and capable alternative to landside transportation; mitigate or relieve landside congestion; promote Marine Highway Transportation; or use vessels documented under 46 U.S.C. chapter 121; and 2) develop, expand, or promote Marine Highway Transportation or shipper use of Marine Highway Transportation

Treasury is publishing multiple funding opportunity notices for its RESTORE Act grant programs. This announcement applies only to the Centers of Excellence Research Grants Program.Trust Fund amounts are available to establish one or more Centers of Excellence through competitive subawards to nongovernmental entities and consortia in the Gulf Coast Region, including institutions of higher education. Funds may be used to establish Centers of Excellence, and by those Centers of Excellence for science, technology, and monitoring in one or more of the following disciplines as described in the RESTORE Act and Treasury’s implementing regulations at 31 CFR 34.704: 1) Coastal and deltaic sustainability, restoration, and protection, including solutions and technology that allow citizens to live in a safe and sustainable manner in a coastal delta in the Gulf Coast Region. 2) Coastal fisheries and wildlife ecosystem research and monitoring in the Gulf Coast Region. 3) Offshore energy development, including research and technology to improve the sustainable and safe development of energy resources in the Gulf of Mexico. 4) Sustainable and resilient growth, economic and commercial development in the Gulf Coast Region. 5) Comprehensive observation, monitoring, and mapping of the Gulf of Mexico.Eligible applicants issuing subawards to Center(s) of Excellence must establish and implement a program to monitor compliance with its subaward agreements.

Treasury is publishing multiple funding opportunity announcements (FOAs) for its RESTORE Act grant programs. This announcement applies only to the Direct Component and is only for applications for eligible non-construction activities, including projects with or without a non-federal cost-share for another federally funded project or program. This announcement also includes planning assistance needed to prepare the Multiyear Implementation Plan (Multiyear Plan) required by the RESTORE Act. To apply for eligible activities involving construction and/or acquisition of real property or any other activity that requires a permit from a federal or state agency, including natural resource restoration projects, applicants should use the construction and real property acquisition funding opportunity announcement (GR-RDC-25-002).Trust Fund amounts are available to carry out eligible activities described in the RESTORE Act and Treasury’s implementing regulations at 31 CFR 34.201. These are: 1) Restoration and protection of the natural resources, ecosystems, fisheries, marine and wildlife habitats, beaches and coastal wetlands of the Gulf Coast region. 2) Mitigation of damage to fish, wildlife, and natural resources. 3) Implementation of a Federally- approved marine, coastal, or comprehensive conservation management plan, including fisheries monitoring. 4) Workforce development and job creation. 5) Improvements to or on State parks located in coastal areas affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. 6) Infrastructure projects benefitting the economy or ecological resources, including port infrastructure. 7) Coastal flood protection and related infrastructure.8) Promotion of tourism in the Gulf Coast region, including promotion of recreational fishing. 9) Promotion of the consumption of seafood harvested from the Gulf Coast region. 10) Planning assistance. 11) Administrative costs. Eligible activities 1 through 7 listed above must be carried out in the Gulf Coast region.