Sewell: DOJ awards $38 million to Alabama to fight crime, make communities safer

U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Alabama, announced on Wednesday more than $38 million in federal funding from the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) to fight crime and make Alabama communities safer. This comprehensive investment is part of a nationwide push to prevent and reduce crime by providing federal resources to combat gun violence, sex trafficking, substance abuse, and violence against women and children. 

“Making our communities safer for our children and families has always been a top priority of mine,” said Rep. Sewell. “This $38 million from the Department of Justice will go a long way in doing just that. Together, these grants will ensure that our community organizations, local law enforcement, and especially our rural police departments have the tools they need to break the cycle of violence, prevent crime, strengthen police accountability, and save lives. I was so proud to advocate for this funding at the federal level and will continue working with our state and local partners to keep Alabamians safe.”

Rep. Sewell announced the following DOJ grants for Alabama:

Bessemer, Birmingham, and Jefferson County 

• $1,998,001 – Office of Justice Programs Community Based Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative – The City of Birmingham will use this funding to expand the Jefferson County Family Resource Center RESTORE pilot, which provides wraparound reentry services for court-involved youth. 
• $1,600,000 – Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Use Site-base Program –  This funding will allow Jefferson County to expand evidence-based substance use treatment and peer recovery support services. 
• $412,728 – Edward Byrne JAG Program – The City of Birmingham Police Department will use this funding to enhance public safety and security. 
• $749,998 – Opioid Affected Youth Initiative – The UAB Department of Psychiatry – Substance Abuse Division will use this funding for the Family Wellness BEYOND project, which is designed to help families impacted by substance use. 
• $900,000 – Second Chance Act Improving Reentry Education and Employment Outcomes – The Dannon Project is using this funding to expand its A Chance for Everyone (ACER) Program, which provides pre- and post-release services to 150 men and women who are incarcerated at the time of annulment and scheduled to return to documented high-poverty and high-crime areas of Birmingham and Jefferson County. 
• $2,000,000 – National Sexual Assault Kit Initiative – The Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office will use this funding to support a multidisciplinary response to sexual assault. 
• $784,194 – Second Chance Act Youth Reentry Program – The Offender Alumni Association will use this funding to implement the OAA Credible Messenger Youth Reentry Initiative. 
• $406,200 – Connect and Protect: Law Enforcement Behavioral Health Response – This funding will be used by the Bessemer Police Department in collaboration with mental health professionals to implement co-response teams (CRT), allowing for individuals in crisis to access proper mental health services and avoid negative interactions with the police.  
• $62,963 – Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program – The Bessemer Police Department will use this funding to recruit officers through traditional and innovative strategies. 

Tuscaloosa and Tuscaloosa County  

• $64,207 – Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program – This funding will be used by the disparate jurisdictions of the City of Tuscaloosa and Tuscaloosa County for equipment that will support crime prevention and violence reduction. 
• $259,810 – Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program – The City of Tuscaloosa will use this funding to design and implement the Tuscaloosa Mental Health Court Initiative. 
• $20,000 – Body-worn Camera Policy and Implementation Program to Support Law Enforcement Agencies – The Northport Police Department will expand its Body Worn Camera Program with this funding. 
• $1,249,636 – Preventing School Violence: BJA’s STOP School Violence Program – The University of Alabama (UA) is partnering with the University of Alabama/University of West Alabama Regional Inservice Education Center to implement the BAMASTOP Program in high schools in rural counties including Choctaw, Greene, Marengo, and Sumter counties. This program uses university-community partnerships to train and educate school personnel, families, and students to prevent and reduce student violence and improve school climate. 

Selma and Dallas County 

• $26,834 – Edward Byrne JAG Program – The City of Selma will use this funding to tackle gang violence, gun violence, and drugs through the use of overtime for off-duty police officers.  
• $300,000 – Rural and Small Department Violent Crime Reduction Program – The Dallas County Commission will use this funding to implement the District Attorney’s Violent Crime Reduction Program. 
• $764,508 – Family-Based Alternative Justice Program – The Dallas County Commission will implement the Dallas County Family Preservation Program with this funding.  

 Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) 

• $20,429,574 – Victim of Crimes Act (VOCA) Victim Assistance Formula Grant – This program helps provide direct assistance to crime victims, with priority going to victims of child abuse, domestic violence and sexual assault and population groups who have been previously underserved. 
• $2,675,267 – Office on Violence Against Women STOP Formula Grant Program – This program, authorized by the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), is used to develop and strengthen law enforcement, prosecution, and court strategies to combat violent crimes against women and to develop and strengthen victim services, including community-based, culturally specific services, in cases involving domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. 
• $4,059,847 – Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program – The Edward Byrne Memorial JAG Program is the primary provider of federal criminal justice funding to state and local jurisdictions. ADECA is currently accepting applications for local law enforcement equipment purchases and the application is available here. 
• $931,749 – Residential Substance Abuse Treatment for State Prisoners Program – This funding will be used to help Alabama inmates with substance abuse prevention and treatment.
• $152,995 – Project Safe Neighborhoods Formula Grant Program – This project is designed to enhance community safety by preventing violent gun and gang crime in Jefferson, Tuscaloosa, Greene, Pickens, Sumter, and other Alabama counties in the Northern District of Alabama. These grants are administered by ADECA at the discretion of the United States Attorney’s offices. 
• $83,604 – Project Safe Neighborhoods Formula Grant Program – This funding will be used to combat violent crime in Montgomery, Lowndes, and other Alabama counties in the Middle District. These grants are administered by ADECA at the discretion of the United States Attorney’s offices.
• $77,001 – Project Safe Neighborhoods Formula Grant Program – This funding will be used by the Southern District of Alabama to combat violent crime in Hale, Perry, Dallas, Marengo, Choctaw, Clark, Wilcox, and other counties in the Southern District. These grants are administered by ADECA at the discretion of the United States Attorney’s offices.
• $325,591 – Paul Coverdell Forensic Science Improvement Grants Program – This funding will be used by the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences to improve their capabilities to combat the opioid epidemic. 

Alabama State Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) 

• $74,808 – State Justice Statistics Program for Statistical Analysis Centers – ALEA will use this funding to improve the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS). 
• $502,933 – Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) Invited to Apply Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force – ALEA will use this funding to maintain, expand, and improve the Alabama ICAC Task Force’s effectiveness in preventing, interdicting, investigating, and prosecuting internet crimes against children.  
• $1,738,956 – National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NCIS) Act Record Improvement Program 
• $2,000,000 – National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP) 

State of Alabama – Miscellaneous Agencies and Organizations 

• $108,001 – John R. Justice (JRJ) Formula Grant Program – Alabama will use this funding to recruit and retain prosecutors and public defenders. 
• $491,000 – VOCA Victim Compensation Formula Grant – This grant award provides funds to the Crime Victims Compensation Commission from the Crime Victims Fund to enhance State Victim Compensation payments to eligible crime victims. 
• $1,868,756 – Adult Treatment Court Site-Based – This funding will be used by the Alabama Administrative Office of Courts (AOC) to implement the MIDAS Treatment Court Data Project, which will help create individualized treatment plans for people arrested for minor drug and alcohol offenses.