Vermont Department Of Public Safety

Vermont Department of Public Safety is a state government entity that acts as the prime recipient of federal grants for emergency management, law enforcement, public safety, and disaster mitigation programs across Vermont, distributing most funding as sub-awards to local governments and regional entities. The department does not hold federal contracts, with all federal activity consisting of grants from FEMA, the Department of Justice, the U.S. Coast Guard, and other agencies under formula, project, and cooperative agreement vehicles.

The department's federal grant portfolio centers on FEMA funding, which dominates both award count and dollars obligated. FEMA Headquarters Financial Assistance Awards account for 130 awards across multiple programs including the Homeland Security Grant Program (CFDA 97.067), Emergency Management Performance Grants (CFDA 97.042), Hazard Mitigation Grants Program (CFDA 97.039), Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (CFDA 97.047), Assistance to Firefighters Grants (CFDA 97.044), and State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program (CFDA 97.137). The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has placed 86 awards, and the Department of Justice has placed multiple awards across its bureaus. Representative recent work includes a $842,393 cooperative agreement from the Bureau of Justice Statistics (CFDA 16.554) for the National Criminal History Improvement Program to modernize the Vermont Crime Information Center's criminal history record systems with biometric data conversion and equipment upgrades; a $5.065 million State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program award (CFDA 97.137) supporting cybersecurity enhancements for state and local government entities; a $2.582 million COPS Anti-Heroin Task Force Program grant (CFDA 16.073) to investigate illicit opioid distribution; a $4.512 million Homeland Security Grant Program award (CFDA 97.067) for state and local emergency preparedness; and a $990,839 Boating Safety Financial Assistance formula grant (CFDA 97.012) from the U.S. Coast Guard with sub-awards to the Vermont Agency of Transportation and Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Customer concentration is heavily weighted toward FEMA, which accounts for the majority of the 130 awards among the top five customer agencies. The top five funding agencies (FEMA, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Department of Justice, and other DOJ bureaus) cover 76% of award count. Total awards number 469, of which 97% are prime grants and 3% are sub-awards. The department obligated $7.77 billion across the award portfolio, reflecting a pass-through grant model in which it distributes federal funding to municipalities, counties, regional planning commissions, and state agencies throughout Vermont. Activity has declined moderately from 34 awards in 2022 to 8 awards in 2026 (through July), and 21 awards face completion within the next twenty-four months.

The department's role is administrative and pass-through rather than direct service delivery in most cases. It serves as the state's principal recipient and administrator of federal emergency preparedness, homeland security, and law enforcement funding, acting as a conduit that distributes resources to local governments and eligible organizations for implementation of community-level public safety, emergency management, fire service, forensic science, and criminal justice programs. The Vermont Crime Information Center, housed within the department, manages criminal history records, biometric data, sex offender registration, and DNA analysis for the state. The department also administers law enforcement training certification through the Vermont Police Academy and supports a multi-jurisdictional drug task force targeting opioid and synthetic drug trafficking.