BJA FY 15 The Sexual Assault Kit Initiative: National Training and Technical Assistance

The summary for the BJA FY 15 The Sexual Assault Kit Initiative: National Training and Technical Assistance grant is detailed below. This summary states who is eligible for the grant, how much grant money will be awarded, current and past deadlines, Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) numbers, and a sampling of similar government grants. Verify the accuracy of the data FederalGrants.com provides by visiting the webpage noted in the Link to Full Announcement section or by contacting the appropriate person listed as the Grant Announcement Contact. If any section is incomplete, please visit the website for the Bureau of Justice Assistance, which is the U.S. government agency offering this grant.
BJA FY 15 The Sexual Assault Kit Initiative: National Training and Technical Assistance: The Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI), administered by BJA, provides funding through a competitive grant program to support multidisciplinary community response teams engaged in the comprehensive reform of jurisdictions’ approaches to sexual assault cases resulting from evidence found in previously unsubmitted sexual assault kits (SAKs). Unsubmitted kits (those in in police custody or other evidence storage locations that have never been submitted to a crime laboratory for testing) and untested kits (those that have been submitted to crime labs but are delayed for testing (e.g., as a result of a backlog of work in the laboratory) are separate and distinct issues. The focus of this effort is on those unsubmitted kits that have never been submitted to a crime laboratory.
The goal of SAKI is the creation of a coordinated community response that ensures just resolution to these cases whenever possible through a comprehensive and victim-centered approach, as well as to build jurisdictions’ capacity to prevent high numbers of unsubmitted SAKs in the future. This program provides jurisdictions with resources to address their unsubmitted SAK issue, including support to inventory, test, and track SAKs; create and report performance metrics; access necessary training to increase effectiveness in addressing the complex issues associated with these cases and engage in multidisciplinary policy development, implementation and coordination; and improve practices related to investigation, prosecution, and victim engagement, advocacy, and support in connection with evidence and cases resulting from the testing process.
Research supported by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) on unsubmitted SAKs at pilot sites in Detroit, Michigan and Houston, Texas has confirmed the value of testing unsubmitted sexual assault kits in solving sexual assault cases. It has also highlighted the complexity of the issue. Unsubmitted SAKs in the custody of law enforcement agencies can be attributed to a wide range of factors, including poor evidence tracking, outdated and ineffective investigation practices, misunderstanding of crime lab case acceptance policies, and lack of understanding among law enforcement about the value of testing kits in various types of cases. This recent research identified the need for more trained investigative and prosecutorial resources to deal with the increased number of investigations and prosecutions resulting from testing a high number of previously unsubmitted SAKs, as well as the importance of linking victims to needed services. Thus, the critical needs around this issue extend well beyond testing kits and
increasing crime lab capacity; this program also addresses the investigative and prosecutorial aspects of sexual assault cases resulting from the testing and enhancing provision of victim services.
There is currently no reliable estimate for the number of unsubmitted kits in the custody of law enforcement agencies nationwide. As noted in a 2011 NIJ Special Report, the problem in assessing the scope is complicated by the fact that some police departments may have deficient evidence tracking, storage, and retention policies, protocols, and facilities. Furthermore, unsubmitted SAKs may be located in places other than police evidence rooms, including hospitals, clinics, rape crisis centers, and unofficial evidence retention locations.
In addition, many law enforcement agencies lack electronic systems to track evidence and encounter data sharing obstacles to exchanging information about DNA “hits” among police, prosecutors, and crime labs in a seamless and real-time basis. It is important to not only support grant sites directly to meet these challenges while reducing the number of unsubmitted SAKs, but also to provide training and technical assistance (TTA) to jurisdictions grappling with this issue to achieve the long term goals of improving our national response to sexual assault.
This competitive grant announcement specifically requests applications for one national TTA provider to support and build capacity in the field and among those jurisdictions selected to receive SAKI funding and other jurisdictions facing similar conditions. This grant announcement does not solicit applications from individual jurisdictions to fund local SAKI projects.
Federal Grant Title: BJA FY 15 The Sexual Assault Kit Initiative: National Training and Technical Assistance
Federal Agency Name: Bureau of Justice Assistance
Grant Categories: Law Justice and Legal Services
Type of Opportunity: Discretionary
Funding Opportunity Number: BJA-2015-4116
Type of Funding: Grant
CFDA Numbers: 16.833
CFDA Descriptions: National Sexual Assault Kit Initiative
Current Application Deadline: May 7, 2015
Original Application Deadline: May 7, 2015
Posted Date: Mar 9, 2015
Creation Date: Mar 9, 2015
Archive Date: Jun 6, 2015
Total Program Funding:
Maximum Federal Grant Award: $6,000,000
Minimum Federal Grant Award: $0
Expected Number of Awards: 2
Cost Sharing or Matching: No
Applicants Eligible for this Grant
Public and State controlled institutions of higher education
Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification)
Private institutions of higher education
Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
For profit organizations other than small businesses
Additional Information on Eligibility
Eligible applicants are for-profit organizations, nonprofit organizations (including tribal nonprofit or for-profit organizations), faith-based and community organizations, institutions of higher education (including tribal institutions of higher education), and consortiums with demonstrated experience providing national and local-level training and technical assistance. For-profit organizations must agree to waive any profit or fees for services.
BJA welcomes applications that involve two or more entities; however, one eligible entity must be the applicant and the others must be proposed as subrecipients. The applicant must be the entity with primary responsibility for administering the funding and managing the entire program. Only one application per lead applicant will be considered; however, subrecipients may be part of multiple proposals
Link to Full Grant Announcement
Full Announcement
Grant Announcement Contact
For technical assistance with submitting an application, contact the Grants.gov Customer Support Hotline at 800-518-4726 or 606-545-5035, or via e-mail to [email protected]. The Grants.gov Support Hotline hours of operation are 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, except federal holidays.
Technical Support

Bureau of Justice Assistance 202-353-7193
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