BJA FY24 Upholding the Rule of Law and Preventing Wrongful Convictions Program | O BJA 2024 172049

Opportunity Information: Apply for O BJA 2024 172049

The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) FY24 Upholding the Rule of Law and Preventing Wrongful Convictions Program is a discretionary funding opportunity designed to strengthen the integrity of the criminal justice system by improving how jurisdictions identify, review, and address potential wrongful convictions after a case has already resulted in a conviction. The program is aimed at supporting two closely related types of efforts: (1) wrongful conviction review (WCR) entities that represent individuals raising post-conviction claims of innocence and conduct detailed case reviews, and (2) conviction integrity or conviction review units (CIUs) that work within or alongside prosecutorial and justice system structures to examine claims, evaluate past practices, and reduce the likelihood of future errors. Taken together, the goal is to promote fairness and accuracy in convictions while creating clearer, more consistent pathways for post-conviction innocence claims to be assessed.

A key component of this solicitation is that BJA is not only looking to fund direct case review and integrity work, but also to build the field's long-term capacity. To do that, the solicitation includes a category for selecting a training and technical assistance (TTA) provider. This TTA provider is expected to help WCR and CIU entities develop and maintain strong operational practices by offering guidance, training, and up-to-date information on effective methods for safeguarding conviction integrity and conducting post-conviction reviews. In practical terms, that typically means helping programs improve their policies, workflows, investigative approaches, data practices, and collaboration models so that reviews are thorough, consistent, and informed by the latest standards and lessons learned. The TTA provider is also tasked with building and maintaining an exonerations database for the field, creating a centralized resource that can support learning, trend analysis, and continuous improvement across jurisdictions.

Eligible applicants are broad and include state, county, and city or township governments; special district governments; public and private institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations; nonprofit organizations (both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3)); and other entities. The solicitation specifically highlights that state, county, or local public defender offices may apply if they have in-house post-conviction representation programs and can demonstrate experience and competence in litigating post-conviction innocence claims. An important partnership requirement is also spelled out: if an applicant is not itself a wrongful conviction review (WCR) entity, it must partner with one, ensuring that funded efforts have direct access to qualified innocence-claim review capacity and the specialized legal expertise needed for post-conviction litigation and investigation.

Administratively, the award is issued as a cooperative agreement, which generally signals that BJA expects to have substantial involvement during the project period (for example, through collaboration on deliverables, close monitoring, or coordinated implementation support), rather than providing funding with minimal federal interaction. The opportunity is listed under CFDA 16.746 and is administered by the Bureau of Justice Assistance. The solicitation information indicates an application closing date of May 15, 2024, with an anticipated 12 awards and an award ceiling of $1,200,000. Overall, the program is structured to both address individual claims of innocence through robust post-conviction review and to strengthen the broader system through training, technical assistance, and shared infrastructure like an exonerations database, with the overarching aim of preventing wrongful convictions and reinforcing public trust in the rule of law.

• The Bureau of Justice Assistance in the humanities sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "BJA FY24 Upholding the Rule of Law and Preventing Wrongful Convictions Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.746.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-03-20.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-05-15. (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 $1,200,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 12 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), 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, Others.

Apply for O BJA 2024 172049

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