State Criminal Alien Assistance Program

Program goal(s) name: Support costs incurred by incarcerating undocumented criminal aliens. Program goal(s) description: Support government entities with costs related to incarceration services of undocumented criminals. Program objective(s) name: Pr

This program provides federal payments to states and localities that incur correctional officer salary costs for incarcerating undocumented criminal aliens with at least one felony or two misdemeanor convictions for violations of state or local law, and incarcerated for at least 4 consecutive days during a 12-month reporting period.

States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa and localities or local jurisdictions.

SCAAP awards are usually obligated and announced by the end of September and released for drawdown by mid-October. There are no restrictions placed on the time permitted to spend the money awarded because SCAAP funds are considered no year funds. SCAAP funds must be used for correctional purposes only. Jurisdictions receiving SCAAP awards will be asked to report the projected use of these funds at the time the award is accepted. Method of awarding/releasing assistance: SCAAP payments are calculated simultaneously, with applicants receiving a prorated payment based on the appropriation; costs submitted, and inmates as determined by DHS. All SCAAP payments are made electronically to the applicant's bank account of record identified during the application process. Please use the jurisdiction's Unique Entity Identifier when applying for SCAAP funds. Once SCAAP data has been validated and analyzed, applicants will receive e-mail notification that awards are ready for online acceptance and drawdown. Formal acceptance of an award via the Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs Justice Grants (JustGrants) system is necessary for the electronic transfer of funds into the applicant's bank account of record. Applicants have 45 calendar days to accept awards through JustGrants once notice is provided. SCAAP payments must go to the jurisdictions' general fund.

An applicant should consult the office or official designated as the single point of contact in his or her state for more information on the process the state requires to be followed in applying for assistance, if the state has selected the program for review.

Criteria for selecting proposals is determined as part of the notice of funding opportunity (NOFO).

All final award decisions will be made by the Assistant Attorney General, unless a statute explicitly authorizes award decisions by another official or there is written delegation of authority to another official. For successful applicants, JustGrants will send a system-generated email to the Application Submitter, Authorized Representative, and Entity Administrator with information on accessing their official award package in JustGrants. The award package will include key information (such as funding amount and period of performance) as well as award conditions that must be followed. The Authorized Representative for the entity should accept or decline the award within 45 days of the notification.

The review procedure for applications is specified in the notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) and generally includes eligibility and responsiveness, merit, programmatic, budget, and risk reviews.

In some cases, award periods may be extended if specific criteria are met. For details, please review the discussion of no-cost extensions in the Criteria for Award Extension section of the Department of Justice Grants Financial Guide available at https://www.ojp.gov/funding/financialguidedoj/overview