Ohio Awards Approximately $3.8 Million in Justice Assistance Grants

COLUMBUS —The Ohio Department of Public Safety’s (ODPS) Office of Criminal Justice Services (OCJS) has announced approximately $3.8 million in federal grant funding to support various components of the criminal justice system from multijurisdictional drug task forces to school resource officers, drug, veteran and mental health courts, corrections projects, and justice technology initiatives in Ohio.

The Edward J. Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program, administered by OCJS, allows local and state governments to support a broad range of activities to prevent and control crime based on the needs and conditions of the jurisdictions.

“We are deeply committed to supporting activities needed to keep our communities and citizens safe,” said Ohio Governor Mike DeWine. “These grants are crucial to our local governments, which have the flexibility to use the funds in ways that best support their efforts to prevent or reduce crime and violence.”

JAG funds are designed as seed money to establish new and promising programs that improve the criminal justice systems, including:

 

  • Multijurisdictional Drug Task Forces                                                      $1.4 million
  • Law Enforcement                                                                                     $483,000
  • Prevention Programs                                                                                $583,000
  • Corrections, Community Corrections and Reentry Programs                  $50,000
  • Victim Service Programs                                                                          $500,000
  • Specialized Dockets                                                                                  $311,000
  • Research, Evaluation and Cross-System Collaborations                          $387,000

One such promising program is the HOPE Community Center’s evidence-based train the trainer program, which helps to foster resiliency among law enforcement officers. The Clermont County-based organization will receive $55,000 to teach resiliency skills to peer support at Clermont County Sheriff’s Office and at the City of Cincinnati Police Department. HOPE Community Center has partnered with resiliency trainers and research associates to create a proactive program of addressing mental health in law enforcement by teaching evidence-based techniques from positive psychology based on resilience.

For more information on grants, and a complete list of grant awards, visit the OCJS Web site at:  http://www.ocjs.ohio.gov/