🔬New SAKI Funding Opportunity Available

With this solicitation, BJA seeks to support the Department of Justice’s priorities of reducing violent crime and supporting law enforcement officers and prosecutors by: 

• Providing resources to address unsubmitted sexual assault kits (SAKs) (including partially tested kits) in their custody that have not been submitted to a forensic laboratory for testing with Combined DNA Index System (CODIS)-eligible DNA methodologies.  
• Improving investigations and prosecutions in connection with evidence and cases resulting from the SAK testing process, as well as other violent cold case crimes.  
• Providing sites with resources to collect DNA samples from qualifying individuals who should have a sample in CODIS but from whom a sample has never been collected or submitted to a laboratory for testing, as well as developing/reforming policies for arrestee collections, if legally permissible in the awardee’s jurisdiction. 

Solicitation Categories: 

• Purpose Area 1: Comprehensive Approach to Unsubmitted SAKs 
• Purpose Area 2: SAKI for Small Agencies 
• Purpose Area 3: Collection of Lawfully Owed DNA 
• Purpose Area 4: Investigation and Prosecution of Cold Case Sexual Assaults 
• Purpose Area 5: Developing and Implementing a Sustainability Plan 
• Purpose Area 6: National Cold Case Initiative 

Eligible Applicants: 

• Native American tribal governments (federally recognized) 
• Other 

The following entities are eligible to apply for Purpose Areas 1 and 3: 

• State law enforcement agencies 
• Units of local government 
• Governmental nonlaw enforcement agencies acting as their fiscal agents 
• Prosecutor’s offices 

The following entities are eligible to apply for Purpose Area 2: 

• Small law enforcement agencies or consortia of small law enforcement agencies 

The following entities are eligible to apply for Purpose Areas 3, 4, and 6: 

• Other: Jurisdictions that have addressed their unsubmitted kits (including partially tested kits) and have clearly demonstrated they have also addressed the downstream case activities (crime analysis, investigation, prosecution as applicable) for at least 75 percent of the associated cases under the jurisdiction’s control and/or authority 

The following entities are eligible to apply for Purpose Areas 5: 

• Other: Existing and/or previous SAKI grantees that have addressed their unsubmitted kits (including partially tested kits) and have clearly demonstrated they have also addressed the downstream case activities under SAKI (investigation, prosecution) for at least 75 percent of the associated cases under the jurisdiction’s control and/or authority