Promoting Evidence Integration in Sex Offender Management: Developing or Validating a Risk Assessment Instrument for American Indian/Alaska Native Populations | SMART 2017 11609

Opportunity Information: Apply for SMART 2017 11609

The grant opportunity titled "Promoting Evidence Integration in Sex Offender Management: Developing or Validating a Risk Assessment Instrument for American Indian/Alaska Native Populations" (Funding Opportunity Number SMART 2017 11609) is a discretionary funding announcement from the U.S. Department of Justice. It is offered as a cooperative agreement, which typically means the agency expects to have substantial involvement during the life of the project rather than simply issuing funds and stepping back. The program sits within the law, justice, and legal services area (CFDA 16.203) and is designed to strengthen evidence-based practices in how sex offenders are assessed and managed, with a specific focus on American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities.

At its core, the purpose of the project is to improve the accuracy and cultural relevance of sex offense-specific risk assessment for AI/AN populations. The funding is intended to support either (1) validation of an existing sex offense-specific risk assessment instrument for use with AI/AN individuals or (2) development of a new, culturally specific risk assessment tool tailored to AI/AN populations. In practical terms, this means applicants would be expected to produce rigorous research and testing that determines whether a commonly used tool actually predicts risk in AI/AN settings as intended, or to design and scientifically evaluate a new instrument grounded in cultural and contextual realities relevant to AI/AN people and communities. The emphasis on validation and/or culturally specific development reflects a concern that instruments built and normed primarily on non-Native populations may not perform the same way when applied to AI/AN individuals, potentially leading to unfair or ineffective decision-making in supervision, treatment planning, and other management decisions.

The opportunity allows a broad range of applicants. Eligible entities include public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) status (other than universities), for-profit organizations (other than small businesses), and small businesses. That eligibility mix signals that DOJ was open to proposals from academic researchers, nonprofit research or service organizations, and private-sector assessment developers, as long as the applicant could credibly carry out the technical work involved in instrument development or validation. Because the award mechanism is a cooperative agreement, applicants would also need to be prepared for ongoing coordination with DOJ on research design, implementation milestones, and dissemination expectations.

Funding details indicate a single anticipated award (Expected Awards: 1), with an award ceiling of up to $1,000,000. With only one award expected, the competition was likely intended to fund one major project with enough scale to produce a strong empirical contribution, such as assembling an appropriate dataset, partnering with AI/AN jurisdictions or agencies, conducting statistical validation work, and producing a usable tool or clear guidance on tool performance. The posting lists a creation date of May 22, 2017, and an original closing date of June 20, 2017, which defined a relatively short application window.

Overall, the opportunity is best understood as an evidence-integration initiative aimed at improving decision-making in sex offender management by ensuring that risk assessment tools are valid, defensible, and appropriate for American Indian and Alaska Native populations. The desired outcome is a scientifically supported instrument (either validated or newly developed) that can be used to inform justice-system decisions in a way that is both empirically sound and sensitive to cultural context, reducing the risk of misclassification and improving the fit between assessed risk, supervision strategies, and interventions.

• The Department of Justice, Department of Justice in the law, justice and legal services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Promoting Evidence Integration in Sex Offender Management: Developing or Validating a Risk Assessment Instrument for American Indian/Alaska Native Populations" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.203.
• This funding opportunity was created on May 22, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 20, 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 $1,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 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, Private institutions of higher education, For profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses.

Apply for SMART 2017 11609

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