NIJ FY17 Research and Evaluation in Safety, Health and Wellness in the Criminal Justice System | NIJ 2017 11481

Opportunity Information: Apply for NIJ 2017 11481

The NIJ FY17 Research and Evaluation in Safety, Health and Wellness in the Criminal Justice System opportunity is a discretionary funding solicitation from the U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice (NIJ), intended to expand multidisciplinary research that strengthens safety, health, and wellness across the criminal justice community. The program is explicitly tied to the NIJ Safety, Health, and Wellness Strategic Research Plan 2016-2021, meaning proposals are expected to do more than describe problems; they should generate evidence that can guide practice, programs, and policy in ways that measurably improve well-being for affected populations connected to the justice system.

Funding is offered through cooperative agreements under CFDA 16.560 (Law, Justice and Legal Services). The solicitation anticipated up to 6 awards, with an award ceiling of $4,500,000. The opportunity was created on January 5, 2017, with an original closing date of March 23, 2017. A wide range of applicants were eligible, including state, county, and local governments; public and private institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribal governments; nonprofit organizations (both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3)); individuals; and for-profit organizations (including small businesses). This broad eligibility reflects NIJ's interest in drawing on varied research capabilities, from academic teams to practitioner-researcher partnerships and applied research organizations.

Applicants were required to submit proposals under one of three defined categories, and the application title needed to clearly identify which category was being addressed. The categories are not interchangeable; each corresponds to specific objectives in the strategic research plan and targets different populations and outcomes. In practical terms, NIJ was signaling that reviewers would assess proposals within their category context, including whether the methods and measures match the category's goals and whether the research design can credibly produce actionable findings.

Category 1 focuses on the causes and effects of stress and trauma, with two primary populations of interest: (a) law enforcement and corrections officers, or (b) individuals living in violent communities. The emphasis here is on using behavioral, psychological, and physiological measures tied to mental and physical health. This category invites research that can unpack how chronic exposure to violence, critical incidents, organizational stressors, or community trauma translates into health outcomes, performance impacts, or long-term wellness risks. The call for physiological measures suggests NIJ interest in rigorous, multi-method approaches, for example combining surveys and interviews with biomarkers or other objective indicators that help validate stress and trauma pathways and identify potential intervention points.

Category 2 examines how the criminal justice system affects families and child development, specifically through research on the impact of parental jail incarceration on children. This category centers on what happens to children when a parent is jailed, including developmental, behavioral, educational, emotional, and health-related consequences, as well as the family-level disruptions that can follow incarceration. The intent is to build evidence that clarifies mechanisms of harm or resilience and identifies factors that can mitigate negative outcomes, such as caregiving stability, visitation practices, support services, and the broader social context affecting affected families.

Category 3 is aimed at policy and system responses, emphasizing the efficacy of services, strategies, policies, and processes within the criminal or juvenile justice system that respond to children exposed to violence. Rather than focusing mainly on describing trauma exposure, this category targets what the justice system does about it and whether those responses work. That can include evaluations of court-related or justice-system-based interventions, cross-system coordination practices, referral pathways, trauma-informed approaches, and other procedural or programmatic strategies designed to improve outcomes for children touched by violence. The underlying goal is to strengthen the evidence base for decision-making in courts and justice agencies, so that resources and policies are aligned with approaches that demonstrate meaningful, replicable benefits.

Across all three categories, the solicitation is essentially about turning safety and wellness concerns into testable research questions with practical payoff. NIJ positioned the opportunity to support studies that can define problems with precision, measure outcomes reliably, and inform improvements that matter in real settings, whether that means protecting officer health, reducing trauma-related harms in violent communities, understanding the developmental impacts of parental incarceration, or determining which justice-system responses best support children exposed to violence.

• The Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice in the law, justice and legal services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NIJ FY17 Research and Evaluation in Safety, Health and Wellness in the Criminal Justice System" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.560.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jan 05, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Mar 23, 2017. (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 $4,500,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 6 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), 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, Individuals, For profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses.

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