The Department of Justice launched its Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation (CTAS) in direct response to concerns raised by tribal leaders about the Department’s grant process that did not provide the flexibility tribes needed to address their criminal justice and public safety needs. In Fiscal Year 2019, the department awarded over $273.4 million in grants to improve public safety, serve victims of crime, combat violence against women and support youth programs in American Indian and Alaska Native communities. The awards included more than $138 million for 149 American Indian tribes, Alaska Native villages, tribal consortia and tribal designees under CTAS. Tribes are using these funds to enhance law enforcement, combat domestic violence, dating violence, stalking and sex trafficking, bolster justice systems, prevent and control juvenile delinquency, strengthen the juvenile justice system, serve sexual assault and elder victims, and support other efforts to address crime. Additionally, FY19 included up to $133 million to be used to serve tribal victims of crime.
Through CTAS, federally-recognized tribes and tribal consortia were able – for the first time ever – to submit a single application for most of the Justice Department’s tribal grant programs. The Department of Justice designed this comprehensive approach to save time and resources and allow tribes and the Department to gain a better understanding of the Tribes’ overall public safety needs. The first coordinated Tribal grant process launched in Fiscal Year 2010, through the collaborative efforts across many department components, bureaus and offices including the:
- Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA)
- Executive Office for United States Attorneys (EOUSA)
- Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS)
- Office of Legislative Affairs (OLA)
- Office of Justice Programs (OJP)
- Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)
- Office of Tribal Justice (OTJ)
- Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) and
- Office on Violence Against Women (OVW)
The Justice Department has two primary goals in mind with this program: increasing access and streamlining the grant process. We developed communications strategies to encourage more tribes to look at the CTAS funding programs and see if these programs could help meet their public safety needs. Please visit our technical assistance resources or the other tabs in this section to apply and manage all your tribal grants.
Online Guide: Preparing for the Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation
This online guide was created by the Education Development Center in coordination with the Department of Justice to assist Tribes as they prepare for, write, and submit their applications for complex grants such as the Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation (CTAS).
This guide contains strategies to:
- Read and comprehend a complex grant solicitation
- Coordinate a robust grant-writing team
- Identify and articulate the needs of your community through data driven processes
- Generate and capture ideas and solutions from your community
- Organize key community players to execute the proposed program