Emergency Planning for Juvenile Justice Residential Facilities

The U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, through its Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, has released the fiscal year 2025 solicitation titled Emergency Planning for Juvenile Justice Residential Facilities. This funding opportunity is designed to support the development, improvement, and implementation of emergency planning activities for juvenile justice residential facilities operated by state, Tribal, county, and local governments. The program intends to ensure that facilities are adequately prepared to safeguard the well-being of youth and staff during emergencies, maintain operations with minimal disruptions, and reduce risks to physical infrastructure. Emergencies are broadly defined as natural, technological, or nonnatural incidents that require protective response actions to preserve life, property, or the environment. The funding program has a total of $400,000 available, with an anticipated number of two to four awards. Each award is expected to be up to $200,000 over a 24-month project period. The anticipated start date for projects is October 1, 2025. Allowable use of funds includes activities that restore essential services, maintain operational continuity, and ensure effective communication and family engagement during emergencies. However, funds cannot be used for programs that violate federal immigration law, violate civil rights laws, or provide certain types of legal services to undocumented individuals. Recipients will be required to submit juvenile justice facility emergency preparedness plans that align with principles outlined in the OJJDP Emergency Planning guide. Eligible applicants include a wide range of organizations such as state, county, city, and special district governments; federally recognized Tribal governments; independent school districts; public and private institutions of higher education; nonprofit organizations with or without 501(c)(3) status; and for-profit entities including small businesses. Tribal institutions of higher education are also eligible. Applications involving multiple organizations are permitted, but only one entity may apply as the lead, with others designated as subrecipients. Cost sharing or matching is not required under this opportunity. The application process requires a two-step submission. Applicants must first submit the SF-424 form through Grants.gov by October 27, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time. Following that, the full application must be submitted in JustGrants by November 3, 2025, at 8:59 p.m. Eastern Time. Applications will be reviewed based on eligibility, responsiveness to program goals, completeness of required elements, and technical merit. Peer review will weigh the problem statement, goals, design, capacity, and budget, while OJP will also consider geographic coverage, strategic priorities, funding availability, and past performance. Award recipients must comply with post-award requirements including quarterly financial reports, semi-annual performance reports, and final reports. They must also ensure compliance with federal civil rights laws and financial management standards. Additional award conditions related to reporting, technology security, and federal regulations will apply. Technical assistance resources, such as the OJP Application Resource Guide and JustGrants submission training, are available to help applicants prepare strong proposals. For assistance, applicants may contact the OJP Response Center by phone at 800-851-3420 or 202-353-5556 (TTY), or by email at OJP.ResponseCenter@usdoj.gov. Support is also available from SAM.gov, Grants.gov, and JustGrants help desks for registration and technical submission issues. This solicitation was released on September 17, 2025, with required registrations beginning by September 26, 2025, and no later than October 10, 2025, to ensure timely application submission.

Applicants should begin SAM.gov registration early, submit SF-424 before the deadline, and ensure clear alignment with program goals and priorities