§10153 Applications

Summary

The top official of a State or local government must apply to the Attorney General for a grant within 120 days after the money for the program is approved for that year. The application must say that federal money will add to, not replace, state or local spending. It must show the application was sent at least 30 days earlier to the governing body (or its designee) for review, and that the plan was made public and offered a chance for citizens and community groups to comment if the law allows. The applicant must promise to keep and report the program and financial records the Attorney General asks for. The chief executive (or another official allowed by the Attorney General’s rules) must certify that the proposed programs meet the law’s rules, the application is accurate, agencies coordinated, and all federal laws will be followed. The application must include a statewide plan for using the grants to improve the criminal justice system. The plan must be written with input from local governments and key justice players (for example, judges, prosecutors, police, corrections, public defenders, victim and juvenile services, community corrections, and reentry programs). It must explain how the state will divide funds among the allowed uses, how it gathers and uses evidence-based data, and what barriers exist to using data and reducing crime and reoffending. The plan must be updated every 5 years and get yearly progress reports that note changes, funding adjustments, ongoing needs, goal progress, and how the plan affected last year’s funding. Within 90 days after December 16, 2016, the Attorney General must start offering technical help to states and locals to make and carry out this plan and to meet Sixth Amendment duties. For fiscal years 2017–2021, between $5,000,000 and $10,000,000 each year must be used for that help.