FY2018 Appropriations for Department of Justice Grant Programs

Summary

Each year, Congress provides funding for a variety of grant programs through the Department of Justice (DOJ). These programs are used to fund state, local, and tribal governments and nonprofit organizations for a variety of criminal justice-related purposes, such as efforts to combat violence against women, reduce backlogs of DNA evidence, support community policing, assist crime victims, promote prisoner reentry, and improve the functioning of the juvenile justice system. Congress funds these programs through five accounts in the annual Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) appropriations act: Violence Against Women Programs; Research, Evaluation, and Statistics; State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance; Juvenile Justice Programs; and Community Oriented Policing Services.

For FY2018, the Trump Administration requests a total of $1.979 billion for the five DOJ grant accounts. This amount includes a total of $610.0 million in transfers from the Crime Victims Fund to three accounts: $445.0 million to Violence Against Women Programs, $73.0 million to State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance, and $92.0 million to Juvenile Justice Programs. President Trump’s budget would eliminate funding for some programs, such as the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (-$210.0 million), the Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation program (-$17.5 million), and anti-methamphetamine (-$7.5 million) and anti-heroin (-$10.0 million) task forces. The budget request also includes reductions to several programs, including the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program (-$70.5 million), grants for juvenile mentoring programs (-$22.0 million), and the Comprehensive School Safety Initiative (-$30.0 million). However, the Administration requests increased funding for two programs to combat violent crime: an additional $63.5 million for Project Safe Neighborhoods and $5.0 million for a new program, the National Crime Reduction Assistance Network.