OJJDP FY24 Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Training, Technical Assistance, and Subgrants Program | O OJJDP 2024 172194

Opportunity Information: Apply for O OJJDP 2024 172194

The OJJDP FY24 Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Training, Technical Assistance, and Subgrants Program is a discretionary federal grant opportunity from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), a component of the U.S. Department of Justice. The purpose of this solicitation is to fund one or more organizations to run core national-level activities that strengthen and expand access to Court Appointed Special Advocates for children who have experienced abuse or neglect and are involved in dependency court proceedings. In practical terms, the funded organization(s) would be expected to help ensure that more children in these cases have a trained advocate assigned to them, and that CASA programs across jurisdictions have the guidance and support needed to operate effectively and consistently.

This opportunity is offered as a cooperative agreement, which generally signals that OJJDP anticipates a more hands-on federal role during the project period than a standard grant. Rather than simply awarding funds and requiring periodic reporting, a cooperative agreement often involves ongoing coordination with the agency on goals, deliverables, and implementation. The program’s activity area is categorized under Law, Justice and Legal Services, and it falls under CFDA (Assistance Listing) number 16.756, which is commonly associated with juvenile justice-related OJJDP assistance.

The solicitation emphasizes three linked functions: training, technical assistance, and subgrants. Training typically refers to building the skills and readiness of CASA volunteers and program staff, including areas like understanding child welfare and dependency court processes, trauma-informed practice, cultural responsiveness, ethics, confidentiality, and effective courtroom advocacy. Technical assistance usually includes hands-on support to local or state CASA programs to improve operations, quality standards, volunteer recruitment and retention strategies, data practices, and program sustainability. The inclusion of subgrants indicates that the prime award recipient(s) will likely be responsible not only for delivering direct training and assistance, but also for administering a portion of the federal funds onward to other entities, such as local CASA programs or related partners, to help expand capacity or implement improvements aligned with OJJDP’s objectives.

Eligibility is fairly broad and includes public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) status, and nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status (so long as they are not institutions of higher education). This eligibility mix suggests OJJDP is open to selecting a range of lead organizations, including national nonprofits with established CASA infrastructure, academic institutions capable of operating training and evaluation functions, or other nonprofit entities with relevant expertise in child welfare systems and court-based advocacy models.

The application deadline listed for the original closing date is August 1, 2024, and the opportunity was created on July 1, 2024. The award ceiling is $16,245,000, and OJJDP expects to make 2 awards. That structure implies OJJDP is planning to fund a small number of large, high-capacity recipients who can operate at scale, coordinate with many local programs, and manage complex deliverables such as national training systems and pass-through subawards. Because only a couple awards are anticipated, the competitiveness is likely to be relatively high, with a premium placed on demonstrated experience, strong implementation plans, and the administrative capacity to manage federal funds and a subgrant program responsibly.

Overall, this grant opportunity is centered on improving outcomes for abused and neglected children in dependency court by strengthening the CASA model through consistent training, practical technical support, and a subgrant mechanism that can expand services and improve quality across communities. The central aim is access: making sure children who need a CASA actually receive one, and that CASA programs are well-equipped to provide informed, effective advocacy within the court process.

• The Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention in the law, justice and legal services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "OJJDP FY24 Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Training, Technical Assistance, and Subgrants Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.756.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-07-01.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-08-01. (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 $16,245,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 2 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, 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.

Apply for O OJJDP 2024 172194

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: