United States
Department of Justice
Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS)
Office of the Director
1100 Vermont Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20530
May 2,
2008
Dear Colleague:
The COPS Office is pleased to announce the availability of funding under the COPS Secure Our Schools (SOS) 2008 grant program. Approximately $13 million is available in FY2008 to provide funding to law enforcement agencies to assist with the development of school safety resources and provide improved security at schools and on school grounds. Specifically, this program will fund up to 50% of the total cost to implement one or more of the following options: placement and use of metal detectors, locks, lighting, and other deterrent measures; security assessments; security training of personnel and students; coordination with local law enforcement; and/or any other measure that may provide a significant improvement in security.
This year, the program is open to all law
enforcement agencies nationwide. The application process will be
competitive, and as such it is recommended that interested law enforcement
agencies use this time, early in the solicitation period, to contact and
develop partnerships with area schools that need to enhance or improve
school safety and security equipment and/or measures. As noted above, there
is a 50% local cash match requirement under this grant program
There are three ways to apply for the SOS 2008 grant program: 1) You may obtain a copy of the application materials by calling the COPS Response Center at 1.800.421.6770. 2) You may print the application materials from a writeable PDF file that is available for download from http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/Default.asp?Item=240. [If you elect to use this format, please understand that you may not submit your application via e-mail. It must be mailed and postmarked as instructed below and must contain original signatures.] 3) As of May 23, 2008 you also may apply on-line at www.grants.gov. To view the application and apply on-line, go to https://apply.grants.gov/forms_apps_idx.html. The opportunity code for this program is COPS-SOS-2008-1.
To be considered for funding, completed applications must be submitted on-line or postmarked no later than June 13, 2008. If you choose to request or download and complete a paper copy of the application, please provide one original and two copies. The completed application can be mailed to:
Office of Community Oriented Policing Services
(COPS)
Attention: Secure Our Schools, 8th floor
1100 Vermont Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20530
(If sending via an express delivery service, please use 20005 as the zip
code.)
The COPS Office
looks forward to working with the law enforcement agencies that apply under
this program and will provide technical assistance to applicants during the
solicitation process, as requested. For more information, please feel free
to contact the COPS Response Center at 1.800.421.6770.
Sincerely,
Carl R. Peed
Director