Keep Young Athletes Safe
Active
- Assistance listing
- 16.840
- Agency
-
Office of Justice Programs
Department of Justice
- Grant awards
- 3 $17,918,209 in federal obligations
Program facts
- Also known as
- Kevin and Avonte's Law
- Assistance types
-
- Project Grant
- Block 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 (SMART Office) funds design and implementation of abuse prevention and oversight programs for the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee and national governing bodies under CFDA 16.840, with the most recent grant award dated October 1, 2024, and an invited continuation opportunity posted November 21, 2025, due November 24, 2025.
The program funds development of educational materials, training courses, and policies to prevent sexual, physical, and emotional abuse of amateur athletes; investigation and response systems for abuse reports; background screening policies for organizational staff including coaches, instructors, and volunteers; and regular and random audits to ensure compliance with abuse prevention procedures. A recent awardee has received 28,787 abuse reports since inception and facilitated 5.6 million online training course completions, with 3.9 million individuals completing courses.
The program is highly concentrated: three awards totaling $17.9 million have been obligated since 2018, all funded by the Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Sex Offender Sentencing. Award frequency has been sparse—one award per year in 2018, 2021, and 2024—with a median gap of three years between opportunities. The assistance-type mix is predominantly Project Grants (two awards, 67 percent) with one Block Grant (33 percent). Standard awards are for 36 months.
Recent grant awards include: the U.S. Center for SafeSport awarded $4,323,774 in October 2024 to expand education and training beyond national governing bodies into local clubs and affiliates while continuing policy development, investigations, and compliance audit work; and $6,781,998 in October 2021 for similar educational materials, training programs, policies, background screening development, and audit oversight. The 2024 award runs through September 30, 2028.
The November 2025 invited continuation opportunity (O-SMART-2025-172490) is restricted to "Other" applicant types and explicitly invites SafeSport to continue program implementation. The prior FY 2024 open solicitation (posted June 27, 2024, due August 9, 2024) welcomed 501(c)(3) nonprofits and other entities, suggesting eligibility may broaden in future cycles. Statutory authority derives from the Keep Young Athletes Safe Act of 2018.
Objective and description
- Objective
Program goal(s) name: Safeguard athletes against abuse. Program goal(s) description: Support oversight of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee and each national governing body to safeguard amateur athletes against sexual, physical, and emotional
- Description
Design and implement a program to safeguard amateur athletes through the prevention of sexual, physical and emotional abuse in the athletic programs of the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) and national governing bodies (NGB).
Eligibility
- Length and time phasing of assistance
Awards are for 36 months unless otherwise noted.
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
| Opportunity | Status | Posted | Applications due |
|---|---|---|---|
| SMART FY25 Keep Young Athletes Safe Continuation - Invited to Apply | Closed | ||
| SMART FY 2024 Keep Young Athletes Safe | Closed | ||
| SMART FY 2023 Invitation to Apply - Keep Young Athletes Safe | Closed | ||
| SMART FY 2022 Invitation to Apply — Keep Young Athletes Safe Program | Closed | ||
| SMART FY 2021 Keep Young Athletes Safe | Closed | ||
| SMART FY 18 Keep Young Athletes Safe | Closed |
Grant awards
| Award | Recipient | Federal obligations | Awarded |
|---|---|---|---|
| The center's charge is to provide an independent place for reports of sexual, emotional, and physical abuse and… | United States Center For Safesport | $4,323,774 | |
| U.S. Center for safesport - keeping young athletes safe | United States Center For Safesport | $6,781,998 | |
| U.S. Center for safesport | United States Center For Safesport | $6,812,437 |
Top recipients by federal obligations
| Rank | Recipient | Federal obligations | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States Center For Safesport | $17,918,209 | 100% |
Federal obligations by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Federal obligations |
|---|---|
| FY2026 | $2,136,949 |
| FY2024 | $2,186,369 |
| FY2023 | $2,267,164 |
| FY2022 | $2,248,126 |
| FY2021 | $2,267,164 |
| FY2020 | $2,279,647 |
| FY2019 | $2,268,956 |
| FY2018 | $2,263,834 |
Quick answers
What is Assistance Listing 16.840?
Assistance Listing 16.840 is Keep Young Athletes Safe, a federal grant program run by Office of Justice Programs (Department of Justice).
What is the CFDA number for Keep Young Athletes Safe?
Its CFDA number is 16.840: Assistance Listing numbers were called CFDA numbers before 2018.
How much funding has Assistance Listing 16.840 awarded?
3 grant awards under 16.840 have obligated $17,918,209 in federal funds to 1 recipient.
Who receives the most funding from 16.840?
The recipients obligated the most under Keep Young Athletes Safe are United States Center For Safesport ($17,918,209).
Are there open grant opportunities under 16.840?
No opportunity listed under 16.840 is open now. The latest, SMART FY25 Keep Young Athletes Safe Continuation - Invited to Apply, was posted on November 21, 2025.
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