PKG00294525.pdf

OMB No. 1121-0329

Approval Expires 02/28/2027

BJA FY 2026 State Criminal Alien

Assistance Program (SCAAP)

Grants.gov Funding Opportunity Number: O-BJA-2026-172810

Application Deadlines in Eastern Time (ET):

1. Complete SF-424 and submit in Grants.gov: December 15, 2026, by 11:59 pm ET

2. Submit full application in JustGrants: December 22, 2026, by 8:59 pm ET

BJA FY26 State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP)

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Contents

1. Basic Information

2. Eligibility

3. Program Description

4. Application Contents and Format

5. Submission Requirements and Deadlines

6. Application Review Information

7. Award Notices

8. Post-Award Requirements & Administration

9. Questions?

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1. BASIC INFORMATION

Purpose of the Funding

The Office of Justice Programs (OJP) is committed to advancing work that furthers the

U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) mission to keep our country safe and secure and uphold the rule of law and protect the rights of American citizens. OJP provides federal leadership, funding, and other critical resources to directly support law enforcement, combat violent crime, protect American children, provide services to American crime victims, and address public safety challenges, including human trafficking and the opioid crisis.

This is a notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) for the BJA FY 2026 State Criminal

Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP). This opportunity seeks applications for payments under the statutorily required SCAAP to eligible states and units of local government that incurred certain types of costs due to incarceration of undocumented criminal aliens during the July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025, reporting period.

Under FY26 SCAAP, payments will be made in connection with undocumented criminal aliens who had been convicted of at least one felony or two misdemeanors (typically for violations of state or local law) and who were incarcerated under the legal authority of the applicant for at least four consecutive days during the reporting period. (Additional details are set out in later sections of this document.)

Applicants must provide particular information about individuals it incarcerated—under its own legal authority—for at least four consecutive days during the reporting period and whom the applicant either (1) knows were undocumented criminal aliens or (2) reasonably and in good faith believes were undocumented criminal aliens. (Note: OJP transmits the data submitted on such individuals to the U.S. Department of Homeland

Security (DHS) for a detailed review.) Applicants also must provide information pertinent to its average costs of incarceration during the reporting period.

Broadly speaking, SCAAP payments are calculated from information provided by applicants in online applications, information provided to OJP by DHS regarding the

DHS review of data on eligible inmates, and the amount of appropriated funds available for the SCAAP application cycle (e.g., for the FY26 program). Detailed information on payment calculations can be found in Appendix D, “SCAAP Payment Calculations,” on the SCAAP website. All information submitted as part of an application is subject to appropriate review by OJP.

See the Eligible Applicants section for eligibility details.

https://bja.ojp.gov/program/scaap/overview

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Funding Details

Announcement Type Initial

Assistance Listing Number 16.606

Statutory Authority

8 U.S.C. 1231(i) and 1365; Department of

Justice Appropriations Act, 2026 (Pub. L. No.

119-74, 140 Stat. 5, 31, para. 2)

Grants.gov Opportunity Number O-BJA-2026-172810

Expected Total Amount of Funding Up to $177,684,621

Anticipated Number of Awards About 500

Award Type(s) Grant

Anticipated Award Amount Up to $59,000,000

Expected Award Period(s) 12 months starting on July 1, 2024

Key Dates and Times

NOFO Release Date November 5, 2026

SAM.gov Registration/Renewal Begin the process by November 12, 2026, and no later than November 30, 2026

Step 1: Grants.gov Deadline 11:59 p.m. ET on December 15, 2026

Step 2: JustGrants Deadline 8:59 p.m. ET on December 22, 2026

See Questions? at the end of this NOFO for agency contact information.

2. ELIGIBILITY

Eligible Applicants

The types of entities that are eligible to apply are:

Government Entities

• State governments

• County governments

• City or township governments

Additional Eligibility Factors

The online FY26 SCAAP application specifically incorporates by reference the eligibility requirements, definitions of terms, and detailed application instructions set out in this document. To assist applicants, this document uses bold to highlight

U.S. Department of Justice | Office of Justice Programs | Bureau of Justice Assistance | 5 defined terms (e.g., state, unit of local government, undocumented criminal alien, eligible inmate, and correctional purposes).

In general, a state or unit of local government is eligible to apply for a payment under the FY26 program if it incarcerated individuals in a correctional facility during the reporting period whom it either (1) knows were undocumented criminal aliens or (2) reasonably and in good faith believes were undocumented criminal aliens.

Absent highly unusual circumstances, OJP will not extend the application deadline or permit an applicant to submit its application after the application deadline. Promptly after the application deadline, OJP will transmit to DHS the data on eligible inmates from all of the applications submitted in JustGrants prior to the application deadline. The volume of eligible inmates data transmitted to DHS (and the nature and complexity of the DHS review of those data) is such that it is not possible to transmit supplemental or corrected data to DHS.

Any application must be completed and submitted by a government official with the legal authority to apply to the FY26 program on behalf of the chief executive of the applicant. This submitting government official must be registered in JustGrants in order to complete and submit an application to the FY26 program.

Joint applications by two or more states or units of local government are not permitted, even if the application names only one state or unit of local government as the applicant. As a rule, an application must not incorporate or report data on either (1) individuals held in custody by the applicant on behalf of (pursuant to the legal authority

of) another state or unit of local government or (2) costs associated with individuals held in custody on behalf of another state or unit of local government.

Certifications: You must submit the following certifications. Refer to Appendix F posted on the SCAAP website for certification language.

• Applicant and Submitting Government Official. This certification confirms the accuracy of all applicant-submitted information and the authority of the governing official.

• Information on Eligible Inmates. This certification confirms the accuracy of applicant-submitted inmate information.

• Information on Correctional Officers and Facilities. This certification confirms the accuracy of applicant-submitted correctional officer and facility information.

As part of the online application to the FY26 program, the submitting government official must make a number of detailed certifications to OJP under penalty of perjury, including formal certifications regarding the accuracy of the information being provided, the official’s conformity with the requirements and instructions set out in this document, and the official’s legal authority to execute the certifications and submit the application on behalf of the applicant.

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JustGrants is designed to reject an application to the FY26 program if the submitting government official fails to execute any of the required certifications. An application cannot and will not be considered submitted (including for purposes of the application deadline) until all of the certifications have been made. See the Disclosures and

Assurances section for more information.

DOJ Reliance on the Required Certifications as Material; Penalties for False

Statements

As indicated in the text of each required certification, DOJ, including OJP, will rely on each certification submitted in connection with an application to the FY26 program as a material representation in any decision to make a payment.

A materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement to the federal government (or concealment or omission of a material fact) as part of a required certification, or in the application that it supports, may be the subject of criminal prosecution (including under

18 U.S.C. §§ 1001 and/or 1621, and/or 34 U.S.C. §§ 10271-10273) and also may subject both the submitting government official and the applicant to civil penalties and administrative remedies for false claims or otherwise (including under 31 U.S.C. §§ 3729-3730 and §§ 3801-3812). Also, certifications provided to OJP in connection with the FY26 program are subject to review by DOJ, including by OJP and the DOJ Office of the Inspector General.

3. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

Statutory Authority

8 U.S.C. 1231(i) and 1365; Department of Justice Appropriations Act, 2026 (Pub. L. No.

119-74, 140 Stat. 5, 31, para. 2)

Agency Funding Priorities

In order to advance public safety and help meet its mission, OJP’s priorities include:

a. Directly supporting law enforcement operations (including immigration law enforcement operations);

b. Combatting violent crime;

c. Supporting services to American citizens;

d. Protecting American children; and

e. Supporting American victims of trafficking and sexual assault.

Unallowable Activities: The following are certain unallowable costs and certain activities that are out of the program scope and will not be funded.

1. Out of program scope is any program or activity, at any tier that, directly or indirectly, violates (or promotes or facilitates the violation of) federal immigration law (including 8 U.S.C. § 1373) or impedes or hinders the enforcement of federal immigration law—including by failing to comply with 8 U.S.C. § 1373, give access

U.S. Department of Justice | Office of Justice Programs | Bureau of Justice Assistance | 7 to DHS agents, or honor DHS requests and provide requested notice to DHS agents.

2. Out of program scope is any program or activity, at any tier that violates any applicable Federal civil rights or nondiscrimination law. This includes violations that (1) indirectly violate the law, including by promoting or facilitating violations;

or (2) unlawfully favor individuals in any race or protected group, including on a majority or minority, or privileged or unprivileged, basis, within a given area, population, or sector.

3. As specified in the DOJ Grants Financial Guide, in Chapter 3.13 “Unallowable

Costs” (“Legal Services for Aliens”), any obligations of funds, at any tier, under this award to provide (or to support the provision of) legal services to any removable alien or any alien otherwise unlawfully present in the United States shall be unallowable costs for purposes any award made under this notice, but the foregoing shall not be understood to apply: (1) to legal services to obtain protection orders for victims of crime; or (2) to immigration-related legal services that may be expressly authorized or required by any law, or any judicial ruling, governing or applicable to the award.

4. APPLICATION CONTENTS AND FORMAT

Application Contents List

The table below lists the contents for your application. Refer to the DOJ Grant

Application Submission Checklist for application instructions. Refer to the SCAAP

Application Submission Guide for detailed SCAAP instructions.

Application Item Submission Type

Step 1: Grants.gov

Application for Federal Assistance: SF-424 Online Form

Step 2: JustGrants

Standard Applicant Information Online Form

Data Requested With Application

• Information on the applicant and its chief executive.

• Information on the submitting government official.

• Data on eligible inmates during the reporting period.

• Data pertinent to the applicant’s costs of incarceration for the reporting period.

Online Form https://www.ojp.gov/doj-financial-guide-2024 https://justicegrants.usdoj.gov/training/checklist-application-submission https://bja.ojp.gov/doc/scaap-application-assistance-acceptance.pdf

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Standard Applicant Information

Review and edit as needed the information imported from the SF-424 submitted in

Grants.gov. Add ZIP codes for areas affected by the project.

Data Requested With Application

In the online SCAAP application, each applicant will be asked to provide specific types of information. In general, they are:

• Information on the applicant and its chief executive.

• Information on the submitting government official.

• Data on eligible inmates during the reporting period, which are provided through upload of a single ASCII-formatted file.

• Data pertinent to the applicant’s costs of incarceration for the reporting period, including information on correctional officers and associated salary expenditures, the total number of inmates incarcerated, and the maximum bed count in the applicant’s correctional facilities.

• State and local law enforcement agencies may provide specific notice to the

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) of an undocumented criminal alien’s name, their release date, and their home and work addresses through the Law

Enforcement Support Center (LESC). The LESC Immigration Alien Query (IAQ) field is an optional field in 2026 for each inmate record to assist in establishing the eligibility of inmates for State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP) reimbursement, but it will be mandatory beginning with the FY 2028 NOFO for costs incurred during the July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027, reporting period.

IMPORTANT: You must refer to the SCAAP website at https://bja.ojp.gov/program/ scaap/overview for information and appendices necessary to complete your application.

REMINDER: For each applicant, there may be only one submitting government official. That submitting government official must complete all sections of the application and must be the one who submits the application to OJP.

All recipients and subrecipients (including any for-profit organization) must forgo any profit or management fee.

Disclosures and Assurances

Read the disclosures and assurances and complete them in JustGrants:

• DOJ Certified Standard Assurances

• DOJ SCAAP Certifications https://www.ojp.gov/funding/apply/ojp-grant-application-resource-guide#disclosures-and-assurances

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5. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS AND DEADLINES

The DOJ Grant Application Submission Checklist and SCAAP Application Guide provide instructions for how to submit your application by the deadlines. Executive Order (E.O.)

12372 (Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs) does apply to this funding opportunity: read the Application Resource Guide for details. Read OJP’s policy for applicants to request late submission due to technical difficulties, severe weather, or natural or manmade disasters.

6. APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION

OJP will review applications to ensure the information presented is reasonable, understandable, measurable, achievable, and consistent with the goals of the funding opportunity. See the Application Resource Guide for information on the application review process for formula grants, including risk review, and the deciding official. If a properly submitted application appears to contain errors that may be corrected by the applicant (such as inaccurate data on correctional officers or correctional facilities), OJP typically will notify the applicant via an email message to the submitting government official and the applicant’s chief executive using the email addresses provided in the application. In such a notification, OJP may provide an applicant with an opportunity to correct the application by a particular date. In any such case, to be considered for a

SCAAP payment, the applicant must make the appropriate corrections by that date.

Due to the nature and complexity of the data review by DHS, however, no corrections may be made to data submitted on eligible inmates (or inmate records) after the application deadline has passed.

7. AWARD NOTICES

Once the amount of any payment under the FY26 program has been determined, award notifications will be sent through JustGrants. Please note that the JustGrants award notifications for all OJP programs include standard language, some of which is not applicable to SCAAP. For example, the language regarding post-award programmatic and financial reports can be disregarded. The SCAAP Help Desk will send a subsequent notification to recipients that will provide information concerning the amount available to the applicant and will provide detailed instructions for online acceptance (in

JustGrants) and drawdown of funds.

An applicant is to complete the online acceptance process within 45 calendar days after receipt of the email notice from OJP. Formal acceptance in JustGrants is required before any electronic transfer of funds to the applicant. See the SCAAP Application

Submission and Acceptance Job Aid Reference Guide.

https://justicegrants.usdoj.gov/training/checklist-application-submission https://bja.ojp.gov/doc/scaap-application-assistance-acceptance.pdf https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/codification/executive-order/12372.html https://www.ojp.gov/funding/apply/ojp-grant-application-resource-guide#guidance-for-specific-sf-424-fields https://www.ojp.gov/funding/apply/ojp-grant-application-resource-guide#experiencing-unforeseen-technical-issues https://www.ojp.gov/funding/apply/ojp-grant-application-resource-guide#application-review https://bja.ojp.gov/doc/scaap-application-assistance-acceptance.pdf

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8. POST-AWARD REQUIREMENTS & ADMINISTRATION

Restriction on Use of SCAAP Payment; Associated Records

As a matter of federal law, a state or unit of local government that receives a payment under the FY26 program must use the payment “only for correctional purposes.” See 8

U.S.C. § 1231(i)(6).

Correctional Purposes: With respect to a state or unit of local government, use of a

SCAAP payment for correctional purposes means:

• Use of the funds to pay any cost reasonably attributable to that government’s operation of a correctional facility for its own use, such as:

o Salaries and wages paid to employees who work primarily and directly in the correctional facility regardless of whether those employees are correctional officers.

o Costs of employment benefits provided to (or on behalf of) employees who work directly in and for the correctional facility.

o The reasonably allocable portion of the salaries, wages, and benefits paid to employees who, although not primarily and directly working in and for the correctional facility, provide necessary services either to the correctional facility (e.g., administrative support) or the individuals incarcerated in the correctional facility (e.g., medical care, transportation).

o Repair, maintenance, and overhead (e.g., utilities) costs reasonably attributable to operation of the correctional facility.

o Use of the funds for payments to a contract correctional facility that are reasonably attributable to incarceration of individuals in such a facility on behalf of (pursuant to the legal authority of) the pertinent state or unit of local government.

Maintenance of Records

An applicant that receives a payment under the FY26 program must, for not less than 3 years after the date it draws down that payment from OJP, maintain records sufficient to demonstrate that the payment was used solely for correctional purposes, and must make those records available to DOJ, including OJP, upon request.

Limit on Request for Compensation

As a matter of federal law, “no jurisdiction shall request compensation for any cost greater than the actual cost for federal immigration and other detainees housed in state and local detention facilities.” See, for example, Department of Justice Appropriations

Act, 2024 (Pub. L. No. 118-42, 138 Stat. 25, 147).

Additionally, refer to Unallowable Use of Funds.

https://www.ojp.gov/funding/apply/ojp-grant-application-resource-guide#unallowable-uses-of-funds

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9. QUESTIONS?

NOFO Contact

Name: Joseph Husted

Phone: 202-598-3617

Email: Joseph.Husted@usdoj.gov

Hours: 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. ET, Monday–Friday

SAM.gov Help Desk

Website: sam.gov/help

Hours: 8 a.m.–8 p.m. ET, Monday–Friday (closed federal holidays)

Grants.gov Help Desk

Phone: 800-518-4726

Email: support@grants.gov

Website: grants.gov/support

Hours: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (closed federal holidays)

JustGrants Help Desk

Phone: 833-872-5175

Email: JustGrants.Support@usdoj.gov

Hours: 7:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m. ET, Monday–Friday and 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, Sunday, and federal holidays.

mailto:Joseph.Husted@usdoj.gov https://sam.gov/help mailto:support@grants.gov https://www.grants.gov/support mailto:JustGrants.Support@usdoj.gov

9. Questions?