BJS FY 2026 State Justice Statistics Program for Statistical Analysis Centers

The U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics administers the State Justice Statistics Program for Statistical Analysis Centers. The program supports the collection, analysis, and dissemination of statistical information on crime and criminal justice at the state and local levels. The funding opportunity is intended to strengthen each state's capacity to coordinate statistical activities, conduct research assessing the impacts of legislative and policy changes, and support BJS by serving as a liaison for data collection from agencies within the state. Its objectives include enhancing states' capabilities to collect, analyze, and report justice data and supporting the collection and sharing of vital justice system data among states and between states and the federal government. Funding may support Core Capacity-Building projects or Special Emphasis Capacity Building projects. Core projects may address research and analysis using incident-based crime data compatible with the FBI's National Incident-Based Reporting System, criminal justice system performance measurement, increased access to statistical data, or another capacity-building project identified by the SAC and appropriately justified. Special-emphasis projects may use administrative or operational criminal justice data for research or conduct targeted analyses using state criminal history records. Special-emphasis applications must include an impact statement explaining how each project will directly support or enhance BJS priorities. BJS encourages collaboration among SACs, including multi-SAC projects. Core capacity-building projects may seek up to $75,000 annually, while special-emphasis projects may seek up to $150,000 annually. The overall anticipated award amount is up to $225,000, and the expected project period is 12 to 36 months beginning October 1, 2026. BJS expects approximately $3,000,000 in total program funding and anticipates 35 cooperative agreement awards. State SACs are the only entities eligible to apply. Applicants must satisfy the requirements for a SAC specified in the program guidelines. When a project involves two or more entities, only one entity may submit the application, and other project partners must be proposed as subrecipients rather than co-applicants. An entity may be a proposed subrecipient in more than one application. No cost sharing or matching contribution is required. Certain activities and costs are outside program scope, including activities that violate applicable federal immigration law or federal civil rights or nondiscrimination law and certain legal services for removable aliens or aliens otherwise unlawfully present in the United States, subject to the exceptions identified in the notice. Project budgets must contain only reasonable, allocable, necessary, and allowable costs. Application submission occurs in two steps. Applicants must first complete and submit the required SF-424 through Grants.gov by September 22, 2026, at 11:59 PM Eastern Time. They must then submit the full application through JustGrants by September 29, 2026, at 8:59 PM Eastern Time. Required application components include Standard Applicant Information, a Proposal Abstract, a Proposal Narrative, and a Budget. The proposal abstract is limited to 2,000 characters and should summarize the project name, goals and objectives, research questions, research design and methods, work products, and dissemination plan. The proposal narrative must be double-spaced using a standard 12-point font, have margins of at least one inch and numbered pages, and may not exceed 25 pages. Other components may include financial management and agency priority information, budget and financial attachments, an MOU or letter of intent for project partners, resumes or descriptions of key personnel, applicable research and evaluation documentation, human subjects and privacy documentation, and a project timeline. The proposal narrative is evaluated through stated weighted criteria. Description of Need represents 5 percent of the application score; Project Goals and Objectives represent 20 percent; Project Design and Implementation represents 25 percent; the special-emphasis impact statement, when applicable, represents 10 percent; Capabilities and Competencies and the status of prior SJS projects represent 25 percent; and the Budget represents 15 percent. Applicants should clearly connect their proposed activities to identified capacity-building needs, explain how capacity will be maintained after the award, associate products or deliverables with project tasks, and provide appropriate justification for each project. For special-emphasis projects, the impact statement is an important consideration in the final award decision. OJP may also give priority consideration to projects advancing specified agency funding priorities, although priority consideration does not guarantee funding. The NOFO was released August 14, 2026. Applicants should begin SAM.gov registration or renewal as soon as possible, but registration is not treated as a pre-application gating requirement. The Grants.gov submission deadline is September 22, 2026, and the final JustGrants deadline is September 29, 2026. Award notification is anticipated by December 1, 2026, and expected award periods are 12 to 36 months beginning October 1, 2026. Recipients must submit performance reports and final deliverables, including applicable final project reports, evaluations, and website enhancements. Materials and reports produced with program funds must be submitted to BJS for review and comment before publication. The NOFO contact is Stephanie Burroughs at AskBJS@usdoj.gov or 202-307-0765. Grants.gov assistance is available at support@grants.gov or 800-518-4726, and JustGrants assistance is available at JustGrants.Support@usdoj.gov or 833-872-5175. The notice does not state that this funding opportunity recurs annually or on another regular schedule.

Clearly establish the SAC's capacity-building need and connect project goals and objectives to the funding opportunity. Provide a specific justification for each project, assess current data collection, analysis, and publication capabilities, explain how proposed work will enhance those capabilities, and describe how the resulting capacity will be maintained after the award. Associate a product or deliverable with each task. Special-emphasis applicants should provide a strong impact statement explaining how each project supports or enhances BJS priorities. Address the status of FY 2020 through FY 2024 SJS projects. Follow the proposal narrative formatting requirements because noncompliance may reduce the score or ranking. Provide clear budget computations and include only reasonable, allocable, necessary, and allowable costs.