Justice Assistance Grant

The Justice Assistance Grant funds described in the source are a local allocation of Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program funding made available by the Bureau of Justice Assistance to Hillsborough County, Florida. The Bureau of Justice Assistance administers the JAG Program to provide state and local governments with funding that supports programs intended to control crime and improve the criminal justice system. The notice states that the local allocation totals $172,129 and is available for use beginning October 1, 2025. The allocation will support the continuation of current criminal justice programs in Hillsborough County. The stated program areas include court program enhancements for veterans, juvenile educational operations, and programming for previously incarcerated women. The source further identifies the supported subgrantee programs as juvenile re-entry educational programming, the Public Defender's Thirteenth Judicial Circuit Veteran's Services Initiative, and WestCare GulfCoast's Project Redirect. These projects are managed by the Hillsborough County Criminal Justice Office. The notice explains that on June 11, 2024, the Public Safety Coordinating Council's Justice Assistance Grant Review Subcommittee recommended funding for continuation and new subgrantee programs for a three-year period, subject to program performance and funding availability. The current allocation is for year two of that three-year funding cycle. The Public Safety Coordinating Council Executive Committee was advised of the subcommittee's recommendations on September 20, 2024. Allowable JAG Program purposes listed in the source include corrections, crime victim and witness initiatives, drug enforcement and treatment, law enforcement, planning, evaluation, and technology improvement programs, prosecution and court programs, and crime prevention and education. The specific Hillsborough County allocation is directed toward existing criminal justice programming rather than a newly announced competitive application process for outside applicants. No cost share, matching requirement, award floor, subaward amount, or per-subgrantee funding amount is stated in the source. The JAG applications will be available for public review from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, from May 11, 2026, until June 10, 2026, at the Hillsborough County Criminal Justice Office, 601 E. Kennedy Blvd., 24th floor, Tampa, FL 33602. The source provides a public comment process rather than a grant application submission process. Comments may be submitted in writing to Deborah McGinty or Eva Dyer at the Hillsborough County Criminal Justice Office at the same address. For more information, the notice lists Deborah McGinty at mcgintyd@hcfl.gov or (813) 276-2549, and Eva Dyer at dyere@hcfl.gov or (813) 276-2033. No application portal, required application forms, evaluation scoring criteria, award notification date, or detailed performance period end date is provided. The only stated funding start date is October 1, 2025, and the notice indicates that this allocation represents year two of a three-year funding cycle.

Review the JAG applications during the stated public review period and submit written comments before June 10, 2026 using the listed Hillsborough County Criminal Justice Office contacts.