Grant Alert: 2023 National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP)

The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) announced the continuation of the National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP) in fiscal year (FY) 2023.

During this grant cycle, BJS will prioritize the use of funds for two purposes:

1. to improve reporting of dispositions and
2. to improve reporting to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) of persons who are prohibited from possessing firearms for reasons related to mental health.

FY 2023 National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP)
Available Funds: $70 million
Award Ceiling: $35 million; no matching requirement
Anticipated Number of Awards: 40
Deadline: May 24, 2023 (Grants.gov) and May 31, 2023 (JustGrants deadline)

Grant Areas of Focus

1. Updating and automating case outcomes from courts and prosecutors in state or tribal records and the FBI’s Criminal History File

Examples of Allowable Costs

• State, local, and tribal court record systems implementation and upgrading
• Implementing improved procedures for capturing criminal history information
• Capturing complete criminal justice data on misdemeanor convictions of domestic violence
• Ensuring that criminal history record information is shared with investigative service providers for national security and other purposes
• Ensuring, through data analysis, the completeness of criminal history records
• Establishing automated interfaces between the record repository and prosecutors, courts, and corrections agencies 

2.    Improving access to information concerning persons prohibited from possessing or receiving a firearm for mental health reasons and transmitting relevant records to the National Crime Information Center (NCIC.)

Examples of Allowable Costs

• Identifying and developing access to data on persons prohibited from firearm purchases
• Instituting programming or operational changes in records management required to comply with NICS record-keeping requirements
• Establishing electronic interfaces or information exchanges between criminal history records, sex offender registries and civil protection order files to ensure a complete data review

1. Supporting participation in the III and the National Fingerprint File (NFF), including adoption and implementation of the National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact

Examples of Allowable Costs

• Automating criminal record databases
• Synchronizing records between the state and the FBI
• Developing hardware and software to enable electronic access to state records intrastate or interstate
• Supporting efforts to seal and expunge criminal history information in accordance with state laws and policies

Examples of Allowable Costs

• Implementing or upgrading systems to automate processes for sealing and expunging criminal history information
• Paying costs to reduce or eliminate backlogs in processing expungements

The Application Process

• Submit by the Grants.gov deadline the required Application for Federal Assistance standard form (SF-424) and a Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (SF-LLL) form as early as possible but no later than 48 hours before the Grants.gov deadline
• If applicants fail to submit in Grants.gov, they cannot apply in JustGrants
• Submit the full application, including attachments, in JustGrants by the JustGrants application deadline 

Who Can Apply?

• Native American tribal governments
• State governments

How Mission Critical Partners Can Help    

• Complete your budget worksheet, which is required, to summarize what you plan to spend in each category.
• Provide quotes so that you can best determine your organization's priorities.
• Develop your project narrative sections, including names of firms you plan to partner with, estimates, and timelines, if applicable.
• Populate your prioritization workshop.

Fundable Solutions Available from Mission Critical Partners (MCP)

• Criminal history data quality metrics and visualizations – MCP has the analytical tools and expertise to evaluate computerized criminal history (CCH) and render data-quality metrics highlighting specific problem areas and providing recommendations to remediate them over time.
• Disposition backfill services – MCP can find and apply missing disposition information en masse by programmatically comparing data from the CCH (missing dispositions) to data from legal entities responsible for reporting dispositions. Our tools use matching algorithms, machine learning, and artificial intelligence to identify large volumes of missing dispositions and prepare them for populating missing information in the CCH.
• Acquisition of new systems – MCP can help agencies navigate the system acquisition process by establishing a business case and managing procurement and implementation. MCP also provides vendor management support, business process design, and change management support.
• Support and advisory services – MCP provide strategic planning services and oversees funding initiatives to support system operations, maintenance, and upgrades.
• Data integration services – MCP helps clients integrate data to perform analytics and reporting and develops custom workflows and application programming interfaces (APIs) that enable data sharing between legacy and next-generation systems.

Grant Assistance Resources

MCP has years of experience helping our clients answer questions and offering insights on how to craft a successful application. We have partnered with the experts at Lexipol to provide grant application assistance across many public-sector categories.

 Learn more about the complete list of grant assistance programs currently available.

Grant Assistance Resources

MCP has years of experience helping our clients answer questions and offering insights on how to craft a successful application. We have partnered with the experts at Lexipol to provide grant application assistance across many public-sector categories.