SMART FY 2023 Fellowship Program: Sex Offender Registry Law Enforcement Liaison and Sexual Violence Prevention Fellowships | O SMART 2023 171748

Opportunity Information: Apply for O SMART 2023 171748

The SMART FY 2023 Fellowship Program: Sex Offender Registry Law Enforcement Liaison and Sexual Violence Prevention Fellowships is a discretionary federal funding opportunity from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs (OJP), through the SMART Office. It is designed to support a small number of 12-month fellowships that strengthen how jurisdictions implement and sustain the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) and improve the overall management of individuals convicted of sexual offenses. The program is positioned within OJP's broader public safety and justice priorities, including advancing civil rights and racial equity, expanding access to justice, supporting crime victims and justice-impacted individuals, enhancing community safety, addressing evolving public safety threats, and building trust between law enforcement and communities.

Awards are issued as cooperative agreements, which typically means the federal agency expects to have an active role in shaping and overseeing the work rather than simply providing pass-through funding. The fellowships run for a 12-month period, and fellows are expected to work closely with SMART Office staff, including periodic onsite work in Washington, D.C. The practical aim is to pair specialized expertise with SMART Office priorities so that the fellowship work directly informs national guidance, technical assistance, and strategies used by practitioners across the country.

Substantively, the fellowships focus on helping states, territories, tribes, and other jurisdictions either reach substantial implementation of SORNA or maintain that status once achieved. This includes improving registry-related policies and practices and strengthening approaches to supervision, monitoring, and information-sharing connected to individuals convicted of sexual offenses. A central theme is using research and field-based practice to reduce sexual violence, not just by improving compliance systems, but also by translating evidence and practitioner experience into clearer tools and recommendations that can be used by agencies on the ground.

Fellows are expected to collaborate with SMART Office and broader DOJ staff to deliver outreach, data and research support, and subject matter expertise. In practice, that can include synthesizing research findings, helping interpret registry and compliance data, engaging with stakeholders in the field, and contributing to the development of new strategies, guidance documents, and program ideas that can improve how jurisdictions manage SORNA responsibilities and sexual offender management more generally. The opportunity frames the fellowships as a way to expand the SMART Office's capacity and reach, with fellows serving as high-level resources who can help move policy and practice forward nationally.

The opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number: O-SMART-2023-171748; CFDA/Assistance Listing: 16.750) anticipated making two awards, with an award ceiling of $300,000. Eligible applicants were broad and included state, county, and city/township governments; public and private institutions of higher education; nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) status (excluding universities in that category); and individuals. The solicitation was created on June 15, 2023, and had an original closing date of July 31, 2023, indicating a defined application window for candidates and organizations positioned to support the fellowship structure and its deliverables.

• The Department of Justice, SMART in the law, justice and legal services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "SMART FY 2023 Fellowship Program: Sex Offender Registry Law Enforcement Liaison and Sexual Violence Prevention Fellowships" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.750.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jun 15, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 31, 2023. (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 $300,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 2 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, Individuals.

Apply for O SMART 2023 171748

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