The Bureau of Justice Assistance opened FY2026 SCAAP applications with up to $177.68 million in expected corrections reimbursement funding and separate December deadlines for Grants.gov and JustGrants.
The U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) posted its FY2026 State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP) funding opportunity on November 5, 2026, with up to $177,684,621 in expected funding. The formula program reimburses qualifying state and local jurisdictions for specified correctional officer salary costs associated with eligible incarceration during the program's reporting period. The solicitation anticipates approximately 500 awards, but these estimates are not announced disbursements or guaranteed payments.
What DOJ opened
BJA lists opportunity O-BJA-2026-172810 as open for fiscal year 2026. The announcement uses a two-stage federal application process: submission through Grants.gov followed by the required application steps in DOJ's JustGrants system.
The Grants.gov deadline is December 15, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern; the JustGrants deadline is December 22, 2026, at 8:59 p.m. Eastern. Applicants should follow the current notice and its application requirements rather than treating the later date as an extension of the initial Grants.gov step.
The solicitation recommends beginning SAM.gov registration or renewal by November 12, 2026, and no later than November 30. Those are preparation dates stated in the notice, separate from the two application deadlines.
Who qualifies and what the program reimburses
Eligible applicants include qualifying state, county, and city or township governments, not individual incarcerated people or private service providers applying on their own behalf. BJA administers the program in conjunction with the Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Joint applications by multiple jurisdictions are not permitted.
Under BJA's program description, the payment formula concerns correctional officer salary costs for incarcerating individuals who meet immigration and conviction criteria. An individual must have been convicted of at least one felony or two misdemeanors and incarcerated under the applicant jurisdiction's legal authority for at least four consecutive days during the reporting period. Applicants submit supporting records for people they know, or reasonably and in good faith believe, meet the program's immigration-status criteria; DHS reviews inmate eligibility for payment calculations.
The FY2026 application concerns the program's stated July 1, 2024–June 30, 2025 reporting period. Jurisdictions should verify the exact record, certification and reporting requirements in the FY2026 solicitation before applying.
A government official authorized to act for the applicant's chief executive must complete and submit the JustGrants application, including the required certifications on applicant authority, inmate information, and correctional officers and facilities. Eligible-inmate data are submitted as an ASCII-formatted file. The solicitation says inmate-record corrections cannot be made after the application deadline; corrections to certain other data may be permitted if OJP specifically requests them.
How reimbursement and spending work
The FY2026 solicitation lists up to $177,684,621 in expected total funding, approximately 500 anticipated awards, and an anticipated award amount of up to $59 million. These are federal planning estimates, not payments already made, a guaranteed award for any applicant, or a fixed allocation to individual states or counties. BJA describes SCAAP payments as formula-based and prorated according to available appropriations, reported eligible costs and DHS determinations.
BJA states that SCAAP payments go to the applying jurisdiction's general fund and may be used only for correctional purposes. This is distinct from an unrestricted general-purpose grant and from a competitive award for reentry housing, employment or treatment services.
Why it matters for corrections and reentry
For correctional administrators and county finance teams, the opening creates a time-sensitive opportunity to document eligible historical costs and complete federal application requirements. Reimbursement can affect correctional budgeting, but it does not itself demonstrate increased capacity, new staffing or new programs.
For OACRA's reentry and service-provider readers, the distinction is important: SCAAP is not the Second Chance Act, a direct reentry grant or a funding round that nonprofit providers can ordinarily pursue independently. Any downstream service spending or vendor opportunity would require a separate, verified jurisdictional budget decision or procurement record.
Justice Market and vendor implications
The commercial signal is jurisdictional corrections financing, not an immediate contracting opportunity. Vendors supplying correctional operations, technology, records management, workforce services or support functions may monitor subsequent agency budgets and solicitations, but the SCAAP notice neither specifies a purchase nor identifies a vendor-selection process.
For jurisdictions and vendors following public funding, the relevant next steps are the government application deadlines and any separately documented budget or purchasing decisions. The SCAAP announcement is a federal funding opportunity, not a procurement notice; it does not establish an open vendor RFP or imply that the estimated funding will be spent on a particular technology or service.
Official notice and application record
- Program
- FY2026 State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP)
- Issuing agency
- U.S. Department of Justice · Office of Justice Programs · Bureau of Justice Assistance
- Opportunity number
- O-BJA-2026-172810
- Assistance Listing
- 16.606
- Expected total funding
- Up to $177,684,621; estimate, not announced disbursements
- Anticipated awards
- About 500; anticipated award amount up to $59,000,000
- Notice posted
- November 5, 2026
- Status / type
- Open · Formula funding
- SAM.gov registration
- Begin by November 12, 2026; no later than November 30, per BJA recommendation
- Grants.gov
- December 15, 2026 · 11:59 p.m. Eastern
- JustGrants
- December 22, 2026 · 8:59 p.m. Eastern
- Eligible applicant class
- Qualifying state and local governments; see full FY2026 solicitation
- Funding use
- Correctional purposes only, under applicable program rules
- Procurement status
- No vendor RFP or contract award identified in this notice
Official sources
November Justice Procurement Watch
Follow federal, state and local funding, contract awards and procurement developments with each record's status and original posting date distinguished.
Read the November public registerEditorial note: OACRA LLC is an independent private organization, not a government agency. This report summarizes official BJA records as of November 6, 2026 and does not provide grant-eligibility or legal advice. Applicants should consult the full official FY2026 solicitation and current agency instructions.
