BJA FY 21 National Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) | O BJA 2021 94003

Opportunity Information: Apply for O BJA 2021 94003

The BJA FY 21 National Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) is a discretionary grant program run by the Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), designed to help jurisdictions make real progress on unsubmitted sexual assault kits and related cold-case evidence. The overall intent is to strengthen public safety and trust while advancing civil rights and access to justice, with a clear focus on supporting victims and improving the ability of law enforcement and prosecutors to resolve sexual assault cases. In practice, the program is meant to move evidence that has been sitting in custody into the testing and investigative pipeline, and then ensure communities have the staffing, policies, and coordination needed to act on what the testing reveals.

SAKI primarily funds efforts to identify and address sexual assault kits that are in a jurisdiction's custody but have not been submitted to a forensic laboratory for CODIS-eligible DNA testing. The initiative also supports work that happens after testing, including improving investigations and prosecutions connected to the evidence and cases that come out of the testing process. A third major purpose is helping sites collect and submit DNA samples from qualifying individuals who, under applicable state law (based on the offense type and timing), should already have a DNA sample in CODIS but do not because a sample was never collected or never sent for testing. The emphasis is on closing gaps that prevent CODIS from being as complete and useful as it is supposed to be.

Beyond fully unsubmitted kits, SAKI also covers partially tested sexual assault kits (as defined in the program materials) and untested evidence tied to sexually motivated homicides. That broader scope reflects the reality that unresolved sexual violence cases can involve multiple evidence types and may overlap with homicide investigations, and that incomplete testing can leave probative DNA results undiscovered. At the same time, the program draws a firm boundary around what it is not meant to fund: it is not aimed at kits that have already been submitted to a lab for CODIS-eligible DNA testing but are simply delayed more than 30 days due to a laboratory backlog. DOJ notes that a separate program exists to address lab backlogs and capacity constraints, so SAKI is focused more on getting evidence into the system and supporting case follow-through rather than increasing lab throughput for already-submitted items.

Administratively, this opportunity was listed under Funding Opportunity Number O-BJA-2021-94003 and CFDA number 16.833. The program is offered as a grant with an award ceiling of up to $2,500,000 per award, and BJA projected about 28 awards for this cycle. The opportunity was posted on May 03, 2021, with an original closing date of Jun 22, 2021. Eligibility is indicated as "Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification)," which signals that applicants may include a range of entities depending on the specific eligibility language in the full solicitation (often including state, local, tribal, and potentially other designated partners involved in the criminal justice and victim services response).

For additional context and resources connected to untested kits and DNA evidence issues, the notice points applicants to DOJ/National Institute of Justice materials at http://nij.gov/topics/forensics/evidence/dna/pages/welcome.aspx.

• The Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance in the affordable care act sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "BJA FY 21 National Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.833.
• This funding opportunity was created on May 03, 2021.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 22, 2021. (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 $2,500,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 28 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for O BJA 2021 94003

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