State Homeland Security Program

The State Homeland Security Program is administered by the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, a state agency responsible for coordinating preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation activities across the Commonwealth of Virginia. Through this program, the agency distributes federal homeland security funding to support statewide and local initiatives that enhance readiness for terrorism threats and other hazards. The program operates as part of the broader Homeland Security Grant Program framework, aligning with national preparedness strategies and federal priorities established by the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The primary purpose of the program is to support efforts that prevent terrorism and strengthen Virginia’s ability to respond to the most significant threats and hazards facing the state. Funding is directed toward building, sustaining, and delivering the core capabilities outlined in FEMA’s National Preparedness Goal. These capabilities span across five mission areas: prevention, protection, mitigation, response, and recovery. The program emphasizes a whole-community approach, recognizing that preparedness requires coordination across all levels of government, emergency services, and community stakeholders. Funds under this program may be used for a wide range of preparedness-related activities. Allowable uses include planning initiatives, organizational development, equipment acquisition, training programs, exercises, and management and administrative costs. Investments are expected to directly support core capabilities and address identified gaps through statewide assessments such as the Threat Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment, the Stakeholder Preparedness Review, and the Local Capability Assessment Report. The program also prioritizes continued support for state special operations teams, including hazardous materials response, search and rescue, incident management teams, and communications infrastructure such as radio caches. The program incorporates specific funding requirements tied to national priorities. A portion of funds must be allocated to law enforcement terrorism prevention activities, and a required percentage must be passed through to local jurisdictions. Additional funding priorities include enhancing cybersecurity resilience, protecting soft targets and crowded places, supporting homeland security task forces and fusion centers, improving election security, and strengthening border crisis response capabilities. These priorities are aligned with federal guidance and are implemented through targeted investments in specialized teams and regional capabilities. Eligibility for the program includes cities and counties within Virginia, as well as state-supported special operations teams that provide critical emergency response capabilities. Applicants are expected to align their proposals with both national and state funding priorities and demonstrate how proposed investments will contribute to closing identified capability gaps. While detailed application components are not outlined in the summary document, applicants typically must submit project proposals, budgets, and supporting documentation through the designated state grant management process. For the referenced funding cycle, applications opened on September 24, 2025, and closed on November 30, 2025. The program is not currently accepting applications. Applicants with questions are directed to contact their regional coordinator within the Virginia Department of Emergency Management or the Preparedness Grants staff via the provided email address. The timeline for award decisions and project performance periods is not specified in the available materials, but funding allocations are determined following the release of the official Notice of Funding Opportunity and subsequent application review process.

Align proposals with FEMA core capabilities and clearly address identified statewide risk and capability gaps; prioritize investments that support national and state homeland security priorities