DOJ has now named all four recipients. Jackson explicitly proposes community reentry and behavioral-health programs, while the other local announcements focus primarily on law enforcement and public-safety infrastructure.
The U.S. Department of Justice has announced more than $267.5 million in Model Cities awards across Jacksonville, Florida; East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana; Jackson, Mississippi; and St. Louis, Missouri. The department describes the larger initiative as approaching $300 million, and the public statements give rounded lower-bound award amounts for three of the jurisdictions.
For readers following reentry funding and community supervision, the important distinction is between services the federal program allows and services that individual cities have actually proposed. DOJ’s Jackson announcement names community reentry and behavioral health; the Jacksonville, East Baton Rouge and St. Louis releases emphasize other public-safety strategies. A broad federal eligibility category should not be confused with a locally approved service budget.
Which cities received Model Cities funding?
The four award announcements identify these recipients and amounts. The word “more than” is important: it marks a minimum stated amount, not a precise final grant obligation.
- Jacksonville, FloridaMore than $73 million. Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office; announced November 6. DOJ describes planned investigative, forensic, staffing, and crime-fighting technology investments. DOJ release.
- East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana$63,532,285 reported numerically; announced November 5 (DOJ says awarded November 4). The release describes expanding investigative and prosecution capacity and modernizing crime data and intelligence. DOJ release.
- Jackson, MississippiMore than $63 million. City of Jackson; announced November 9. Its plans include victim services, behavioral health, community reentry, law-enforcement staffing and technology. DOJ release 26-1334.
- St. Louis, MissouriMore than $68 million. St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department; announced November 9. Its proposed priorities include police staffing, drones, gunshot detection and a real-time crime center. DOJ release 26-1335.
The sum is greater than $267,532,285 using DOJ’s stated thresholds; the exact combined award total cannot be calculated from the rounded public figures alone. DOJ’s East Baton Rouge release contains an apparent wording error that appends “million” to the numerical dollar figure. This article uses the consistent figure of $63,532,285, corroborated by the release’s “more than $63.5 million” headline, rather than repeating the inconsistent phrase.
Jackson explicitly includes reentry and behavioral health
The City of Jackson is the clearest direct reentry connection in the four jurisdiction-specific releases. DOJ states that Jackson proposes to strengthen crime-victim services and expand behavioral-health and community reentry programming, alongside upgrades to forensic analysis, public-safety technology and staffing.
Those references are substantive, but they do not establish how much of Jackson’s award will fund reentry or behavioral-health services, which agencies or organizations will deliver them, or when participants will be able to enroll. The newsworthy change is an announced award and named local priorities, not a completed service rollout.
What DOJ's Model Cities grant permits
DOJ’s FY2026 call for applications expressly identifies reentry, transitional support and recidivism-reduction services as an eligible activity area. Its examples include release planning, structured supervision, continuity of medical and behavioral-health care, temporary housing, employment assistance, vocational education and case management.
Other eligible activities include staffing and retention, equipment and technology, forensic capabilities, prosecution support, mental-health and substance-use services, victim services, and youth prevention and intervention. The program was designed as a 36-month cooperative agreement opportunity, jointly administered by DOJ’s Office of Justice Programs, Community Oriented Policing Services and Office on Violence Against Women. Its public reference is Assistance Listing 16.077, not an individual award number.
These allowable categories explain why Model Cities is relevant to OACRA’s corrections and community-reentry coverage. They do not demonstrate that each funded locality has budgeted money for every allowable category.
Why the four local plans should not be treated as identical
DOJ says Jacksonville’s proposal emphasizes law-enforcement staffing, forensic capacity and investigative technology. East Baton Rouge’s announcement emphasizes intelligence and prosecution capacity. St. Louis identifies policing technology and personnel priorities, including drone expansion and improvements to gunshot detection and its Real-Time Crime Center.
Jackson’s announcement likewise includes policing investments, but is the one that specifically names behavioral health and community reentry in its summary of local proposed priorities. Treating all four grants as directly funded reentry programs would overstate the evidence.
Award status, grant references and implementation
The October 30 announcement identified four jurisdictions selected for Model Cities funding. Subsequent individual announcements supplied award figures by November 9. The program’s federal reference is Assistance Listing 16.077. For source tracking, DOJ’s Jackson press release is 26-1334, St. Louis is 26-1335, Jacksonville is 26-1331 and East Baton Rouge is 26-1317. These are press-release identifiers, not grant award numbers.
The public sources reviewed for this article do not provide a complete final spending schedule, locally approved reentry budget, operating provider roster, participant enrollment process, or confirmed contract awards for reentry services. Further agency announcements may clarify these points.
What OACRA will track next
Meaningful follow-up reporting should identify: whether Jackson funds specific reentry or behavioral-health programs; the responsible departments or service operators; authorized spending amounts; implementation and launch dates; evidence of services actually delivered; and outcomes or reporting measures when released. Material procurement awards will be tracked separately from general funding announcements.
This article advances OACRA’s earlier reporting on the Model Cities application deadline (NPR-2026-036) from application and selection to recipient awards and implementation planning, without duplicating its previous funding-round explanation.
Earlier OACRA coverage
This November award-stage report updates the funding lifecycle documented in OACRA News reference NPR-2026-036: DOJ’s $300 Million Model Cities Initiative Reaches September 1 Deadline. The September report covers applications and selection procedures; this report covers the confirmed award announcements and the limits of currently available implementation information.
Official sources
- DOJ — Four Model Cities selected (October 30, 2026)
- DOJ — Jackson award and community reentry priority, release 26-1334 (November 9)
- DOJ — St. Louis award, release 26-1335 (November 9)
- DOJ — Jacksonville award, release 26-1331 (November 6)
- DOJ — East Baton Rouge award, release 26-1317 (November 5)
- DOJ — FY2026 Model Cities Initiative call for applications and Assistance Listing 16.077
Follow reentry funding and justice-service implementation
Read independent reporting on reentry, corrections, behavioral health, community supervision, grants and confirmed public-sector implementation.
Explore News & Policy Review →Editorial notice: This report describes DOJ’s public award announcements as of November 10, 2026. OACRA LLC is an independent publisher and is not affiliated with or endorsed by DOJ or the funded jurisdictions. The reported awards are not open applications for individual assistance. Program plans and services are subject to subsequent official implementation details.
