OAJJA: Crime Prevention through Safer Streets Grant Program

The Crime Prevention through Safer Streets Grant Program is a funding opportunity offered through the Office of Adult and Juvenile Assistance (OAJJA).

The goal of the Crime Prevention through Safer Streets Grant Program is to allow the department and local governments to evaluate and design safer streets and neighborhood models that discourage crime, revitalize community image, and establish place-specific crime prevention strategies that account for geographic, cultural, economic, and social characteristics of the target areas.

Resource: SB22-001 Crime Prevention through Safer Streets Utilizing Design Management Strategies

Statutory Authority: C.R.S. 24-33.5-117. Crime prevention through safer streets grant program

Office of Adult and Juvenile Justice Assistance is not currently accepting applications for this grant program.

• Announcement Date: November 1, 2023
• Application Deadline: January 00, 0000
• Planning Time: November 1, 2023 - March 1, 2024 (application due date)
• Funding Decision Announced: Early/Mid May

• Reconsideration/Appeals Deadline: Approximately 3 days following Denial Notification
• Grant Agreement Issuance: Late May/Early June
• Award Period: July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2026

Eligible Grant Recipients Include:

• Local Governmental Agencies
• Local Governmental Agencies that partner with a Community-based Nonprofit Organization

Evaluation

The Advisory Committee will evaluate applications on the following criteria:

• Ability to demonstrate areas where crime is more prevalent.
• Measurable or observable goals to decrease the incidence of crime.
• Sufficient consultation and collaboration with the relevant impacted community where a project would take place.
• Sufficient indication of community support for the projects included in the grant application.
• Plan to prevent the displacement of homeless populations and harm to communities of color and vulnerable populations.

The Crime Prevention through Safer Streets Advisory Committee will meet and make funding recommendations in mid-late November.

Applications that are denied funding may submit an appeal within three (3) days of notification, however, appeals may only contain clarifying information specific to the reasons noted in the denial notification and cannot contain new information.

Exclusions and Limitations

Money from the grant award may not be used for the following:

• Hiring law enforcement or code enforcement personnel or peace officers
• Facial recognition purposes
• Surveillance programs that utilize networks of sensors to detect gunshots, commonly referred to as a “ShotSpotter” program

The Crime Prevention through Safer Streets Grant Program Announcement of Availability of Funds, Application, and Application Instructions are available in DCJ’s Grant Management System: Fluxx.io. This grant accepts application one per year.

To access Materials and Apply for Funding:

1. Log into Fluxx.io
2. Click “Apply for Funding”
3. then click “Apply Now for a TEST Grant Name”

If you experience problems or have questions about how to use Fluxx, please contact dcjgms@state.co.us

• How to Login to Fluxx.io
• Need Help Resetting your Password?

Create an Account to Apply 

Can you provide some guidance on Goals and Objectives?

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

These are the elements against which you project will be evaluated and which you will use to report quarterly and final progress.

Goals: Goals are logical, sensible, clearly written and directly tied to the project. Write one or more goals you will focus on this project.  Goals are broad statements (i.e., written in general terms) that convey a project's overall intent to change, reduce, or eliminate the problem described.  

Objectives: Objectives describe the strategies to be implemented to achieve the goal and should be logically related to that goal. Objectives are logical, measurable, sensible, clearly written, realistic and can be accomplished within the grant time-frame.

Measurement: identifies the amount of intended change expressed as a rate, percent or whole number. 

Timeframe:  The quarter in which the objective will be completed.

PROJECT EVALUATION

Describe the evaluation plan for the stated goals and objectives. Include the following:

1.     Based on your stated objectives, what data will you collect in order to measure your success in meeting those objectives?

2.     What instrument/tool will be utilized to collect data?

3.     How will you confirm whether your project was successful in making progress toward achieving your goal? 

Can you tell me the sorts of projects this grant is intended to support?

Can you tell me if it would support Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design, Crime Analyst training, community policing initiatives or other related projects or is this more intended to support infrastructure projects such as lighting, street modifications, and the like?

This grant is intended to support environmental design and infrastructure projects. Crime prevention through environmental design projects would be supported.  Crime analyst training, community policing programs, and related projects might be a hard sell since they will most likely involve hiring additional officers.

The grant will not support hiring law enforcement personnel, facial recognition, or shot spotter programs.

​What are the grant award dates?

We anticipate the award period to be June 1, 2024 to June 30, 2026.

Is there a maximum amount per award? 

 The total funding level is $3,754,944.  At this time, there is no maximum amount set per award.

Is there a match requirement amount? 

DCJ encourages applicants to show a commitment from either local governments or other by partner agencies for this project to support sustainability. A match is not a requirement for this funding.

Is it required that we partner with a community based nonprofit organization or other entity?

SB22-001 allows local governmental agencies to partner with a community-based nonprofit organization to submit a joint application. Although partnerships and collaborations are encouraged, partnerships are not a requirement for this funding.

Would a pole mounted license plate reader or a new hostage negotiation van fall within the scope of this grant?

This grant is intended for environmental design and infrastructure projects.  The grant funding cannot be used for hiring personnel, facial recognition purposes, or surveillance programs that use networks of sensors.  Some examples of improvements to decrease the incidence of crime and create safer streets as listed in the bill include better lighting, improved trash collection, access control, territorial reinforcement, and improved space management.

How do I find my project application if I don’t complete it all at the same time?

When you log into ZoomGrants (ZG), click on My Account Home. Any incomplete applications will appear under the Incomplete tab. If the application deadline has passed the incomplete applications will move the to the Archived tab.

What do I do if I get the message that I exceeded the maximum length for a question? 

If there is a character limit it will appear with each question. As you type, a box indicates how many characters are remaining. There may be a slight discrepancy in character counts upon saving the answer. Carriage Returns count as two (2) characters when SAVED, but count as one (1) characters when TYPING/EDITING. The final characters count may be off by 1 character for each carriage return. You may need to shorten your answer if your initial answer uses the maximum character limit.

How do I submit more than one application for my agency?

A ZG account is linked to an individual within an agency, and not the agency as a whole. If your agency has distinct and separate projects with different project directors each project director should have his/her own account. (Unless the agency decides to have a singular generic account owner that provides project director access to each application on a case by case basis). 

If your agency has multiple ZG accounts, each account may submit one or more applications. If a single ZG account holder would like to submit more than one application, you may accomplish this in one of two ways:

1. Apply Again – creates a new blank application
   • Login
   • Click Apply Again to create a new Application.
2. Duplicate Application – copies an application within the same Grant Program and allows you to edit it.
   • Under My Account Home find the application you want to duplicate (it will be under either the Incomplete or Submitted tab).
   • Click Duplicate and a copy of the application will open an allow you to edit.

 Do we need to include a breakdown budget for any contractors/vendors?

Yes. A line item budget must be included in the budget narrative under the consultants/contract (professional services) category. Suggested budget format is: list personnel, supplies and operating, travel, equipment, and contracted services or professional services. The budget should include only those items for which you are requesting funding.

Does the system allow for review by our Appointing Authority?

Prior to application submission by the division, all applications must be reviewed and approved by our Authorizing Authority so that s/he has the opportunity to evaluate projects to determine if they are in keeping with our mission and goals and do not violate laws or regulations.  Is that possible in the system?

Yes, you can “Print/Preview” the application prior to submission. This can be found on the top right corner of the individual application. You may save to PDF and/or print it.

Do the character limits in the sections include the spaces between words?

Yes. Be advised, hitting Return also uses two (2) characters.

We have not registered with SAM and do not have an UEI, will this stop us from submitting an application?

Yes. Please contact DCJ if you are currently registering with SAM or if you are reactivating your registration, but have not yet completed the process.

How do I update my SAM end date on my new application?

Using data released by the federal government, ZoomGrants completes a SAM verification (via each applicant’s UEI) and presents the results for each applicant in the Application Summary tab of their applications.

The federal government releases this data every month, and SAM checks are completed once an applicant submits their application and are automatically updated monthly, following the release of the new data.

The SAM verification will only appear in the Application Summary tab on an application if the applicant has entered a valid UEI.

Would there be any consequence to filing the intent to apply and then later deciding not to submit an actual proposal?

The intent to apply was optional.  There is no consequence to filing the intent to apply and deciding against submitting a proposal.

Our agency did not meet the intent to apply deadline, can we still apply for this grant program when the application opens?  

Yes, your agency can most definitely still apply. The intent to apply was optional and not a requirement. 

Is this a re-occurring grant opportunity?

At this time, the grant program is a one-time grant opportunity.