NIJ FY22 Research on Juvenile Justice Topics | O NIJ 2022 171216

Opportunity Information: Apply for O NIJ 2022 171216

The NIJ FY22 Research on Juvenile Justice Topics solicitation is a discretionary research grant opportunity from the Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, led by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) in collaboration with the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). The overall purpose is to fund rigorous research and evaluation that can directly inform juvenile justice policy and practice, while aligning with broader DOJ priorities such as advancing civil rights and racial equity, increasing access to justice, supporting victims and people impacted by the justice system, strengthening public safety, addressing evolving threats, and improving trust between law enforcement and communities.

This opportunity is narrowly focused on three research areas, and proposals must fit squarely within one of them to be considered. The first area is juvenile indigent defense in delinquency proceedings, meaning research that examines how legal representation for youth who cannot afford counsel is delivered, how it affects case processing and outcomes, and what policies or models improve fairness and due process in juvenile courts. The second area centers on co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders in juvenile residential facilities, supporting studies that explore how frequently these conditions appear together among confined youth, how facilities screen and treat them, how service gaps affect behavior and outcomes, and what approaches improve treatment access and continuity of care. The third area is assessing dual system youth data linkage capacity across juvenile justice and child welfare systems, aimed at understanding and improving the ability of agencies to identify and study youth involved in both systems by linking data, resolving barriers (technical, legal, governance, privacy), and producing actionable guidance for better cross-system coordination and accountability.

Because these projects often require real-world access to system partners and administrative data, the solicitation strongly emphasizes partnerships and documentation of partner commitment. Applications that involve juvenile justice, criminal justice, child welfare, mental health, substance use treatment, or similar agencies are expected to include strong letters of support signed by appropriate decision-making authorities. These letters should explicitly confirm the partner agency understands that de-identified data generated, obtained, or used through the project must be archived with the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD) at the end of the award. Applicants and partners are encouraged to review NACJD policies and protections in advance, and if an award is made, the grantee is expected to have formal agreements executed with partnering agencies by January 1, 2023, including contract language that ensures the required data archiving will happen. The solicitation also clarifies that when multiple agencies will use federal award funds to carry out the work, only one organization can be the primary applicant; other participating entities must be structured as subrecipients rather than co-applicants.

The solicitation includes eligibility and compliance conditions that may affect applicants and partners. A key requirement tied to Executive Order 13929 (Safe Policing for Safe Communities) is that state, local, and university or college law enforcement agencies must either be certified by an approved independent credentialing body or have begun the certification process to be eligible for FY 2022 DOJ discretionary grant funding. To qualify for certification, agencies must meet mandatory standards related to use-of-force policies, including compliance with applicable laws and a prohibition on chokeholds except where deadly force is legally permitted. This certification requirement extends to law enforcement agencies receiving funds through subawards as well, so projects that include law enforcement partners should account for this early.

In terms of who can apply, the eligible applicant pool is broad and includes state, county, and municipal governments; special districts; independent school districts; public and private institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations; public housing authorities; nonprofit organizations (with or without 501(c)(3) status); for-profit organizations (other than small businesses) and small businesses; and other eligible entities. Foreign governments, foreign organizations, and foreign colleges and universities are not eligible, while federal agencies may apply (with awards handled as inter-agency reimbursable agreements). Another important financial condition is that all recipients and subrecipients, including for-profit entities, must waive any profit or management fee, reinforcing the expectation that awarded funds are used strictly to carry out the research and related project costs rather than generate profit.

Key administrative details from the posting include the funding opportunity number (O-NIJ-2022-171216), CFDA number 16.560, an award ceiling of up to $3,000,000, and an original closing date of May 9, 2022. Overall, the solicitation is designed for research teams that can deliver methodologically strong studies in one of the three specified topic areas, secure meaningful operational partnerships, handle sensitive administrative data responsibly, and produce findings that agencies can realistically use to improve juvenile justice practice and outcomes.

• The National Institute of Justice in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NIJ FY22 Research on Juvenile Justice Topics" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.560.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2022-03-24.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2022-05-09. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $3,000,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others.

Apply for O NIJ 2022 171216

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