BJA FY24 Emmett Till Cold Case Investigations and Prosecution Program | O BJA 2024 172013

Opportunity Information: Apply for O BJA 2024 172013

The BJA FY24 Emmett Till Cold Case Investigations and Prosecution Program is a discretionary grant opportunity from the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), designed to help move forward investigations and prosecutions in long-unsolved homicide cases where there is reason to believe the crimes were racially motivated or connected to civil rights violations. The program focuses on supporting the real work needed to revisit these cases, including reviewing old evidence, locating and interviewing witnesses, re-examining records, using modern investigative techniques, and building prosecutable cases in partnership with prosecutors and other key stakeholders. At its core, the grant is intended to strengthen capacity at the state, local, and tribal levels to address unresolved civil-rights-era and similar cold case homicides, particularly those historically under-investigated, mishandled, or left without accountability.

Eligible applicants include state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies as well as prosecution offices, reflecting the program's emphasis on coordinated investigation-to-prosecution efforts rather than isolated case review. The solicitation specifically encourages applicants to work with partners, which in practice can include forensic laboratories, medical examiner or coroner offices, civil rights organizations, community groups, historians, universities, and other entities that can help locate records, preserve or interpret historical materials, or support trauma-informed victim and family engagement. While the summary language is brief, the stated purpose signals that applications should be prepared to show how the agency will operationally connect investigative work with prosecutorial strategy, including case screening, legal analysis, and evidence development suited to courtroom standards.

The opportunity is listed under CFDA number 16.031 and categorized under the funding activity category of Humanities, which aligns with the program's civil rights and historical justice orientation and the frequent need to work with archival materials, historical documentation, and community history in addition to traditional criminal investigative resources. The funding instrument is a grant, and the opportunity is competitive, with BJA expecting to make about three awards. The award ceiling is $750,000 per award, meaning applicants can request up to that amount (subject to the solicitation's detailed budget rules and any required cost principles). The funding opportunity number is O-BJA-2024-172013, and the original application closing date was May 28, 2024, with the opportunity created on March 6, 2024.

In practical terms, this program is meant to help agencies dedicate time, staff, and specialized resources to cases that are often complex due to the passage of time: witnesses may be difficult to locate, memories may have faded, records may be incomplete, and physical evidence may require advanced testing or careful re-handling. Funding from this program can support the work required to overcome those barriers, including investigative overtime or dedicated cold case personnel, coordination between investigators and prosecutors, and efforts that increase the likelihood that cases can be brought to court when the evidence supports prosecution. The program's civil rights emphasis also implies attention to the broader context of these crimes, including patterns of racial violence, institutional failures, and community impact, while still keeping the central goal on evidence-based investigation and lawful prosecution of homicide offenses.

• The Bureau of Justice Assistance in the humanities sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "BJA FY24 Emmett Till Cold Case Investigations and Prosecution Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.031.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-03-06.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-05-28. (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 $750,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 3 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for O BJA 2024 172013

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