FY 2003 Universal Hiring Program

The summary for the FY 2003 Universal Hiring Program 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 Community Oriented Policing Services, which is the U.S. government agency offering this grant.

FY 2003 Universal Hiring Program: The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (Pub. L. 103-322) authorizes the Department of Justice to make grants to increase deployment of law enforcement officers to increase or enhance community policing on the streets and rural routes of this nation. The Universal Hiring Program (UHP) enables interested agencies to supplement their current sworn forces, or interested jurisdictions to establish a new agency, through federal grants for up to three years. The National Strategy for Homeland Security, the Administration's roadmap for securing the homeland, highlights the key role that state and local governments play in responding to a terrorist attack. Terrorism preparedness and prevention have become key responsibilities for state and local units. As such, while all policing agencies, as well as jurisdictions seeking to establish new policing agencies, are eligible to apply for this program, priority consideration will be given to those applications that demonstrate a use of funds related to terrorism preparedness or response through community policing. Grants will be made for up to 75 percent of the entry level salary and benefits for each new officer over a three year grant term for a total of 36 months, up to a maximum of $75,000 per officer, with a required minimum of 25 percent local match to be paid with state or local funds. Funding will begin once the new officers have been hired on or after the date of the award, and will be paid over the course of the grant. Officers must be hired on or after the grant award start date to qualify for grant funding. Waivers of the non-federal matching requirement may be requested under UHP, but will be granted only upon a demonstration of extraordinary fiscal hardship. COPS grant funds must not be used to replace funds that agencies otherwise would have used to fund an officer in the absence of the grant. In other words, any hiring under UHP must in addition to, and not in lieu of, officers that otherwise would have been hired with state, local or other non-COPS funds. At the time of application, applicants must also agree to plan for the retention of each additional COPS-funded UHP position with state, local or other non-COPS funds at the conclusion of federal funding, for a minimum of one full local budget cycle. The retention requirement cannot be satisfied through attrition. An award under the COPS Universal Hiring Program will not affect the consideration of an agency's eligibility for a grant under other COPS programs.