Tribal Civil and Criminal Legal Assistance Grants, Training and Technical Assistance
Active
- Assistance listing
- 16.815
- Agency
-
Office of Justice Programs
Department of Justice
- Grant awards
- 29 $22,612,564 in federal obligations
Program facts
- Also known as
- Tribal Civil and Criminal Legal Assistance
- Assistance types
-
- Project Grant
- Cooperative Agreement
- Block Grant
- Formula Grant
- Treasury account
-
- 15-0404-0-1-754
- More information
Program details come from SAM.gov Assistance Listings. Updated . Grant award figures come from USAspending.gov.
About this program
The Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Assistance funds civil and criminal legal assistance to tribal members, tribes, and tribal justice systems under CFDA 16.815, with the most recent grant award issued October 1, 2024, and a current solicitation (BJA FY 2026 Tribal Civil and Criminal Legal Assistance) due November 6, 2026.
The program awards grants to support direct legal aid and indigent defense services for low-income individuals in tribal courts, capacity-building assistance to tribes implementing Tribal Law and Order Act and Violence Against Women Act requirements, and specialized training and technical assistance for tribal justice systems. Representative recent awards include a $2.763 million project grant to Montana Legal Services Association and the National Association of Indian Legal Services to provide direct civil legal assistance to at least 800 tribal members across 20 participating legal services programs (October 2023), a $2.763 million project grant for criminal legal assistance and tribal capacity-building across 17 legal services programs (October 2023), and a $906,609 cooperative agreement to the National American Indian Court Judges Association for comprehensive training and technical assistance to tribal justice systems (October 2024).
Over the past 15 years, 29 grants totaling $22.6 million in federal dollars obligated have been awarded under this program. The portfolio is dominated by Project Grants (52% of awards) with substantial shares of Cooperative Agreements (31%) and smaller portions of Block Grants and Formula Grants. The Bureau of Justice Assistance accounts for 12 awards totaling $13.9 million, while the broader Office of Justice Programs accounts for 17 awards totaling $8.7 million. Award cadence has declined slightly, with 1–3 awards annually in recent years. Grant periods run up to 24 months, and recipients must retain records for three years from submission of final expenditure reports.
The open FY 2026 solicitation (O-BJA-2026-172775, due November 6, 2026) seeks Cooperative Agreement applications from 501(c)(3) nonprofits and national or regional membership organizations. An earlier invited-to-apply opportunity (O-BJA-2025-172590, due May 6, 2026) is also posted.
Objective and description
- Objective
Program goal(s): Improve civil and criminal legal services. Program goal(s) description: Build and enhance capacity and improve delivery of civil and criminal legal services to individuals and tribes, as well as develop policies that improve access t
- Description
This program provides legal aid and indigent defense to low-income individuals and Indian tribes and provides training and technical assistance to and interested Indian tribes.
Eligibility
- Length and time phasing of assistance
Award project periods are up to 24 months.
How to apply
- Criteria for selecting proposals
Criteria for selecting proposals is determined as part of the notice of funding opportunity (NOFO).
- Award procedure
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.
- Time to approval or disapproval
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.
- Renewals
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
Grant opportunities
Grant awards
Latest 10 of 29 listed here. See the rest on GovTribe.
Top recipients by federal obligations
| Rank | Recipient | Federal obligations | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Montana Legal Services Association | $8,519,107 | 38% |
| 2 | Native American Rights Fund | $7,523,407 | 33% |
| 3 | National American Indian Court Judges Association | $3,012,927 | 13% |
| 4 | Hoh-Kue-Moh Corporation | $789,802 | 3% |
| 5 | The Council Of State Governments LTD. | $600,000 | 3% |
| 6 | Tulalip Tribes Of Washington | $438,127 | 2% |
| 7 | Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community | $432,271 | 2% |
| 8 | Pribilof Aleuts, Inc. | $339,992 | 2% |
| 9 | Mitchell Hamline School Of Law | $283,394 | 1% |
| 10 | Tulalip Foundation | $253,548 | 1% |
10 of 14 recipients listed here. See the rest on GovTribe.
Federal obligations by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Federal obligations |
|---|---|
| FY2026 | $1,523,107 |
| FY2024 | $2,706,609 |
| FY2023 | $2,196,000 |
| FY2022 | $1,200,000 |
| FY2021 | $556,318 |
| FY2020 | $576,329 |
| FY2019 | $1,200,000 |
| FY2018 | $1,157,988 |
| FY2017 | $1,195,303 |
| FY2015 | $1,570,303 |
| FY2013 | $1,778,221 |
| FY2012 | $2,286,218 |
| FY2011 | $2,436,221 |
| FY2010 | $3,960,390 |
Show all 14
Quick answers
What is Assistance Listing 16.815?
Assistance Listing 16.815 is Tribal Civil and Criminal Legal Assistance Grants, Training and Technical Assistance, a federal grant program run by Office of Justice Programs (Department of Justice).
What is the CFDA number for Tribal Civil and Criminal Legal Assistance Grants, Training and Technical Assistance?
Its CFDA number is 16.815: Assistance Listing numbers were called CFDA numbers before 2018.
How much funding has Assistance Listing 16.815 awarded?
29 grant awards under 16.815 have obligated $22,612,564 in federal funds to 14 recipients.
Who receives the most funding from 16.815?
The recipients obligated the most under Tribal Civil and Criminal Legal Assistance Grants, Training and Technical Assistance are Montana Legal Services Association ($8,519,107), Native American Rights Fund ($7,523,407) and National American Indian Court Judges Association ($3,012,927).
Are there open grant opportunities under 16.815?
1 listed opportunity under 16.815 is open or forecasted. The latest, BJA FY 2026 Tribal Civil and Criminal Legal Assistance, was posted on October 7, 2026.
On GovTribe
See this program's full record
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