What opened
The Bureau of Justice Assistance released the FY2026 Crisis Response Training Program, opportunity O-BJA-2026-172706, to support governments, law-enforcement agencies, correctional facilities, probation and parole departments, sheriffs’ offices and certain public institutions developing or expanding crisis-response training.
BJA expects approximately $5,256,751 to be available and anticipates eight awards—four in each of two categories. Awards may reach $650,000 for an expected 36-month period beginning January 1, 2027. The opportunity does not require cost sharing or matching funds.
Two categories separate field and institutional training
| Category | Covered settings and personnel | Approaches expressly identified |
|---|---|---|
| 1 · Law enforcement | Police departments, sheriffs’ offices, field probation and parole officers, and campus police | Crisis-response and intervention training; law-enforcement VR systems that allow multiple participants to train simultaneously and integrate with existing programs |
| 2 · Corrections | Jails, prisons and correctional agencies, including facility-based officers, institutional probation and parole staff, and detention personnel | Crisis-response and intervention training; correctional-specific VR systems supporting multiperson training in institutional settings |
The program focuses on responses involving people experiencing behavioral-health conditions, substance-use disorders, intellectual or developmental disabilities, physical disabilities or traumatic brain injuries. Its stated goal is to improve crisis-response effectiveness, officer safety and operational performance through training, tactical skills and technology.
Virtual reality is an explicit implementation pathway
The NOFO does more than permit generic technology spending. It expressly identifies immersive, multiperson VR systems in both categories and asks applicants proposing VR to describe the platform, the accompanying evidence-based curriculum and the outcome data that will be collected.
Applicants proposing VR must also explain how immersive, multiperson technology will support customized training scenarios. That makes curriculum quality, implementation capacity and evaluation design part of the funding analysis—not merely the purchase of hardware or software.
Who may apply
Eligible applicants include state, county, city and township governments; federally recognized and other Tribal governments; units of local government; public and state-controlled colleges and universities; private institutions of higher education; and qualifying public or state-controlled hospitals with campus police departments.
An entity may submit more than one application when each proposes a different project, but each application must address only one funding category. Where multiple organizations would carry out a project, one eligible entity submits the application and other participating organizations are proposed as subrecipients rather than co-applicants.
The NOFO includes federal priority-consideration conditions
BJA states that priority consideration may be given to qualifying state or local law-enforcement efforts coordinated with federal law enforcement through established participation—or a documented commitment to participate—in a 287(g) partnership and/or Homeland Security Task Force.
Applicants seeking that priority consideration must provide the documentation described in the NOFO. BJA also makes clear that priority consideration is only one factor in award decisions and does not guarantee funding. This provision should not be confused with the baseline eligibility categories.
Why this matters for the justice-services market
The direct opportunity is a federal grant competition for eligible applicants. Its downstream significance is that funded agencies may later need training curricula, scenario design, immersive VR platforms, behavioral-health expertise, technical implementation, data collection and evaluation support.
For corrections and community-supervision vendors, the most meaningful later records will be award announcements identifying funded agencies, followed by agency procurement notices, subaward opportunities, implementation partnerships and technology acquisitions.
Application timeline
| Milestone | Date | Operational meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Recommended registration start | September 5, 2026 | BJA’s recommended point to begin SAM.gov registration or renewal |
| Latest registration start | September 21, 2026 | NOFO’s latest advised date to begin SAM.gov registration or renewal |
| Grants.gov | October 5 · 11:59 p.m. ET | SF-424 submission deadline |
| JustGrants | October 13 · 8:59 p.m. ET | Complete application deadline |
| Anticipated start | January 1, 2027 | Expected beginning of the 36-month award period |
What OACRA will track next
- amendments to the NOFO, deadlines or application requirements;
- award announcements identifying the eight anticipated recipients;
- agency solicitations for crisis-response curricula or training delivery;
- VR platform, scenario-development and implementation procurements;
- subrecipient and evaluation relationships; and
- reported implementation and training outcomes.
