Office of Criminal Justice Grants
Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program
The Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) is a national, formula-based, block-grant program administered by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP) with the goal of improving the criminal justice system. The JAG program provides funds to local and tribal units of government as well as state criminal justice agencies, to enhance initiatives in their jurisdiction.
The federal JAG program guidelines require funding to be used in one or more of the following program areas:
- Law Enforcement
- Prosecution and Courts
- Prevention and Education
- Corrections and Community Corrections
- Drug Treatment and Enforcement
- Planning, Evaluation, and Technology Improvement
- Crime Victim and Witness
- Mental Health
- Implementation of state crisis intervention court proceedings
The DOJ/OJP Bureau of Justice Assistance further divides these federal program areas into
twelve activity areas for award performance reporting.
Funding Overview
In the spring, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP) releases the annual state JAG program solicitation and funding allocations. The Office of Criminal Justice Grants (OCJG) prepares a comprehensive application and submits it on behalf of the State of Florida. OJP reviews the application and issues a federal award for OCJG to pass-through to local and state criminal justice partners.
Once the state's award is approved and accepted, and all conditions are met, OCJG begins administering awards as either JAG Countywide (JAGC) or JAG Direct (JAGD).
The table below shows the history of OCJG JAG funding for the past five years.
JAG-Countywide (JAGC)
The JAGC program represents approximately 85% of Florida's total federal award and is subdivided into two parts - state share and local share. State share projects are appropriated to state criminal justice agencies, whereas local share projects follow the application process outlined in
Chapter 11D-9, Florida Administrative Code.
Using population and crime statistics, the local share is divided among Florida's 67 counties through a formula-based funding matrix. Each county is responsible for completing the local strategic planning process and providing notification to OCJG of proposed projects. More information on the local strategic planning process may be found under the
JAG-Countywide page.
JAG-Direct (JAGD)
The JAGD program represents the remaining 15% of Florida's total federal award. This portion is passed directly to eligible units of government who do not receive funds through OJP's Local JAG Direct Program. For this program, OCJG issues awards ranging from $1,000 to $10,000 with the allocations determined by most recent crime statistics reported. More information on the JAGD application process can be found on the
JAG-Direct page.
JAG Strategic Plan
To comply with the new statewide strategic planning requirements outlined in Section 502 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act, the Office of Criminal Justice Grants developed the State of Florida Byrne JAG Strategic Plan. The strategic plan outlines key priorities for Florida's JAG funding based on results from the survey of local agency partners and state agency long range program plans. Recipients are strongly encouraged to fund projects addressing at least one of the identified priorities.
State of Florida
JAG Strategic Plan