The Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency’s (PCCD) School Safety and Security Committee has announced the availability of state School Safety and Security funds to implement projects to address violence in Pennsylvania’s communities.  One aspect of Act 44 of 2018 provided for up to $7.5 million in funding for local efforts to reduce and/or prevent violence for certain specific purposes.  These purposes include: 

• Increasing access to quality trauma-informed support services and behavioral health care by linking the community with local trauma support and behavioral health systems; 
• Providing health services and intervention strategies by coordinating the services provided by eligible applicants and coordinated care organizations, public health entities, nonprofit youth service providers and community-based organizations; 
• Providing mentoring and other intervention models to children and their families who have experienced trauma or are at risk of experiencing trauma, including those who are low-income, homeless, in foster care, involved in the criminal justice system, unemployed, experiencing a mental illness or substance abuse disorder or not enrolled in or at risk of dropping out of an educational institution; 
• Fostering and promoting communication between the school entity, community and law enforcement; or 
• Any other program or model designed to reduce community violence and approved by the committee.  

For FY20-21, the School Safety and Security Committee (SSSC) has prioritized applications that intend to utilize evidence-based or evidence-informed programs to reduce or prevent community-based violence (e.g., gun violence, gang violence, etc.) in areas identified with high-violent crime rates using Uniform Crime Report offense data or similar local crime statistics.  This prioritization does not preclude any other application for any other type of community violence prevention but does mean that applications collectively addressing these areas will receive priority in the review process. 

Applications are due in PCCD’s Egrants System by November 10, 2020.  Recommended applications will be approved at the January 2021 School Safety and Security Committee meeting, and all projects will have a targeted start date of February 1, 2021.  For full application requirements, applicants are encouraged to read and print the narrative funding announcement and use it as a guide to complete their applications in the Egrants System.  

Click here for more information or visit: https://www.pccdegrants.pa.gov/Egrants/Public/OpenAnnouncements.aspx