BJA FY 23 Veterans Treatment Court Discretionary Grant Program | O BJA 2023 171536

Opportunity Information: Apply for O BJA 2023 171536

The BJA FY 23 Veterans Treatment Court Discretionary Grant Program is a competitive (discretionary) federal grant opportunity administered by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, through the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). The program is designed to help jurisdictions plan, launch, improve, or expand veterans treatment courts (VTCs). In plain terms, it targets court-based programs that steer justice-involved veterans with substance use disorder treatment needs into structured, supervised treatment and recovery services instead of relying only on traditional prosecution and sentencing. The broader framing of the solicitation ties the work to public safety goals and to OJP priorities such as advancing civil rights and racial equity, increasing access to justice, supporting victims and people impacted by the justice system, strengthening community safety, responding to evolving threats, and building trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve.

At the center of the funding is the veterans treatment court model itself. VTCs are specialized court dockets that combine judicial supervision with treatment and recovery supports, using coordinated teams that typically include the judge, prosecution, defense, supervision officers, treatment providers, and veteran-focused partners. The solicitation highlights core components that define the model: evidence-based substance use disorder treatment, mandatory drug testing, and a structured system of incentives and sanctions to encourage compliance and respond to setbacks. It also emphasizes transitional services, which commonly means practical supports that help participants stabilize and succeed outside the courtroom, such as housing assistance, employment and education connections, benefits navigation, and peer mentoring. The intended outcomes are explicit: reduce recidivism, expand access to treatment and recovery support, and prevent overdoses among participating veterans.

Funding under this opportunity is meant to provide both financial and technical assistance. Financial assistance covers the tangible costs required to plan and operate a VTC or improve an existing one, while technical assistance points to training, implementation support, and guidance on best practices so courts can deliver the model with quality and consistency. In practice, this kind of support is often used for program design and planning, staffing and coordination, service partnerships, evidence-based treatment and recovery supports, data collection and performance measurement, and operational enhancements that make the court more effective and sustainable. The opportunity also references examples of prior successful applicants through BJA’s Veterans Treatment Court Grant Program overview page, signaling that applicants are encouraged to learn from established approaches and demonstrated models.

Eligible applicants are government entities and certain public authorities. This includes state governments, state courts, local courts, county governments, city or township governments, special district governments, federally recognized Native American tribal governments, and public housing authorities or Indian housing authorities. The solicitation is therefore geared toward justice system and governmental partners that can operate or formally support a specialized court function, rather than individual nonprofits or private organizations applying as the primary recipient. The funding activity category is Law, Justice and Legal Services, and it is associated with CFDA number 16.043, which is commonly used for BJA’s justice assistance programming.

Key administrative details include the funding opportunity number (O-BJA-2023-171536), an original application closing date of April 11, 2023, and a creation date of January 30, 2023. Awards are issued as grants, and the listed award ceiling is $2,500,000, meaning an applicant could request up to that amount under the solicitation’s rules and budget constraints. The posting also indicates “Expected Awards:” but does not provide a number in the source text provided, so the total number of awards cannot be determined from this excerpt alone.

Overall, this grant opportunity is aimed at strengthening how jurisdictions respond to veterans whose criminal cases are closely tied to substance use disorders by supporting court-supervised, treatment-centered interventions. The program’s theory is that a structured mix of accountability (drug testing and court supervision), clinical care (evidence-based treatment), and supportive services (transitional supports) can reduce repeat justice involvement, improve recovery outcomes, and lower overdose risk, while aligning local justice practices with national priorities around equity, access, and community trust.

• The Bureau of Justice Assistance in the law, justice and legal services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "BJA FY 23 Veterans Treatment Court Discretionary Grant Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.043.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2023-01-30.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2023-04-11. (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.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities.

Apply for O BJA 2023 171536

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