Indian Highway Safety Law Enforcment Grant

The Bureau of Indian Affairs' Office of Justice Services is soliciting proposals from federally recognized tribes to implement traffic safety programs and projects designed to reduce motor vehicle crashes, fatalities, and injuries within Indian Country. Applicants may pursue one of three grant types: Straight Time Hours Grants, Overtime Hours Grants, or Highway Safety Specialist Grants, with applications due by May 1, 2026. Eligible tribes must submit a comprehensive application including tribal resolutions, indirect cost rate agreements, traffic safety data (October 1 – September 30 fiscal year), problem identification statements, measurable performance targets, and detailed budgets. All law enforcement grants have mandatory performance targets including reducing motor vehicle crash fatalities and crashes, increasing DUI/OWI arrests, increasing speed and general traffic citations, and increasing seat belt citations. Applications must include current Single Audit compliance documentation and a commitment to participate in national enforcement mobilizations and heatstroke awareness messaging. Applicants must submit proposals to ojs_indian_highway_safety@bia.gov or mail to the BIA Office of Justice Services in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with a training session available on April 18, 2026, at the Baltimore Convention Center.

Grant awards are structured as reimbursable, performance-based formula grants typically ranging from approximately $50,000 to over $34 million, with four-year funding cycles (October 1, 2024, to September 30, 2028). Eligible expenses include training, equipment, software, personnel costs (straight-time and overtime hours with fringe benefits), GSA vehicle leases or mileage reimbursement, office supplies, and media costs for mobilizations and heatstroke messaging. Tribes must expend funds first and submit monthly documentation for reconciliation and reimbursement. All program records must be retained for a minimum of three years from the date of final financial report submission. Performance-based funding decisions are determined by statutory apportionment formulas and reviewed by NHTSA Regional Administrators, with the NHTSA Associate Administrator for Regional Operations and Program Delivery serving as the final appeals authority.