The Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) is offering state grant awards for relevant public school safety personnel within the relevant school division or law-enforcement agency, and expenses related to the equipment necessary for relevant public school safety personnel and the enhancement of the school-law enforcement partnership through training and programming.

The funding opportunity is in the DCJS On-line Grants Management System (OGMS). Grant applications must be submitted in OGMS no later than 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, February 29, 2024.

Under this announcement, the posted Funding Opportunity is FO #521290 “FY25 School Safety Personnel and Programming Only Grants”. Grants will be awarded for a 12-month grant cycle and are available up to a total of four years, with applications due annually. Applications submitted under Funding Opportunity #521288 for SRO positions and #521289 for SSO positions will have priority.

The total amount requested in an application in DCJS Special funds may not exceed $100,000 per school safety personnel (SSP) position or $25,000 for expenses related to equipment, supplies, training, and programming.

Units of local government are eligible to apply for and receive these funds. Law enforcement agency and school division staff may serve as a grant Project Director; however, the Project Administrator must be the locality’s chief administrative officer. Please read the guidelines and instructions for additional details.

School resource officers (SROs) and school security officers (SSOs), as defined in the Code of Virginia § 9.1-101, will not be funded under this opportunity.

Grant awards are dependent upon the availability of funding within the SRO Fund in the state appropriations act.

All applicants must register in OGMS to view and apply for this funding opportunity. Instructions on how to register are available on our OGMS Training & Resources webpage. We ask that you allow at least 3-5 days for your request to be reviewed. Once approved, you will receive an email with your username and a separate email with your temporary password. Additional OGMS training resources are available on the OGMS Training & Resources webpage. 

In addition, an OGMS and application information webinar will be available for applicants. The presentation will discuss application requirements and instructions on how to complete the forms in OGMS. When available, the presentation will be placed on the School Safety Personnel and Programming Grant website and as an attachment on the Funding Opportunities.  

For technical assistance with OGMS, email ogmssupport@dcjs.virginia.gov and include the grant program in the subject line. This support email should be used for general system questions, but not grant application-specific inquiries.