FY22 Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act (LEMHWA) Implementation Projects | O COPS 2022 171165

Opportunity Information: Apply for O COPS 2022 171165

The FY22 Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act (LEMHWA) Implementation Projects grant is a discretionary funding opportunity from the U.S. Department of Justice, Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Office. Its core purpose is to strengthen mental health and wellness support for law enforcement personnel by helping agencies and partner organizations put practical, on-the-ground wellness strategies into place. The program is grounded in the broader philosophy of community policing, which emphasizes partnerships and problem-solving approaches that address the underlying conditions contributing to public safety concerns like violent crime, nonviolent crime, and fear of crime. In addition to wellness outcomes, the COPS Office frames this work within larger priorities such as advancing civil rights and racial equity, improving access to justice, supporting crime victims and people impacted by the justice system, strengthening community safety, and building trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve.

Funding under LEMHWA is focused on implementation projects that expand access to mental health and wellness services for officers and agencies. The solicitation highlights several eligible or encouraged program areas, including peer support programs, mental health and wellness training, family-focused resources, suicide prevention efforts, and other promising wellness practices. The overarching expectation is that funded projects will do more than simply offer services; they should help identify, strengthen, and spread approaches that can be replicated, improved, and sustained across the field.

A major theme of the solicitation is producing and sharing "knowledge products" that are designed to be usable by practitioners. The COPS Office specifically calls for outputs that follow "good guidance" principles: they should be quality-driven (clear action steps that reduce inconsistent performance), evidence-based (aligned with the strongest available research and systematic review where applicable), accessible (plain language and practical length for the law enforcement audience), and memorable (easy to apply in real-world, high-stress situations). In other words, the program is looking for work that translates research and experience into tools, guidance, training materials, or other resources that agencies can actually use.

The competition is open, and applicants are allowed to submit multiple applications as long as each project is submitted as a separate application. A key administrative point is that each application must clearly identify the correct solicitation; if it does not, it risks failing the basic minimum requirements screening. The COPS Office also signals that award recipients are expected to begin work immediately after selection and award notification, which implies applicants should be ready to launch quickly with staffing, partnerships, and work plans already thought through.

Applicants are expected to follow specific COPS Office standards for deliverables and public-facing outputs. Training-related products must comply with the COPS Office Curriculum Standards and Review Process Guides (available through the COPS training site). If a project involves convenings or events, it must follow the COPS Office conference request approval process. Written products are expected to align with the COPS Office Editorial and Style Manual, reinforcing the emphasis on consistent, practitioner-friendly guidance. For projects that include site-specific work with particular agencies, the solicitation strongly encourages letters of support from the agencies involved to show commitment and readiness to participate.

In developing project goals and the proposal narrative, applicants are asked to address several outcome categories that reflect a progression from learning to long-term adoption. These include: developing knowledge (creating new insights or leveraging existing evidence about promising community policing strategies related to wellness), increasing awareness (expanding how many agencies and individuals know about effective approaches), increasing skills and abilities (building capacity to implement proven practices), increasing practice (growing the number of agencies and stakeholders actually using these practices), and institutionalizing practice (embedding the strategies into routine operations so they continue well beyond the grant period). Applicants are also encouraged to align their work with COPS Office performance measures referenced in the solicitation, signaling that measurable outputs and outcomes matter in both the proposal and later reporting.

Key opportunity details included in the posting are: the Funding Opportunity Number is O-COPS-2022-171165; the CFDA number is 16.710; the awarding agency is the DOJ COPS Office; the award ceiling is $175,000; and the opportunity anticipated around 42 awards. The solicitation was posted March 15, 2022, with an original closing date of April 27, 2022. The program is authorized under federal law, including the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (as amended) and the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, with awards contingent on the availability of appropriated funds and any legal requirements in effect at the time of award.

For applicants who need clarification, the solicitation directs questions to the COPS Office Response Center by phone (800-421-6770) or email (AskCopsRC@usdoj.gov), available weekdays during business hours Eastern Time except federal holidays. Overall, the opportunity is designed for organizations ready to implement officer wellness strategies quickly, document what works, and produce practical, evidence-informed resources that help the field adopt and sustain effective mental health and wellness practices.

• The Department of Justice, Community Oriented Policing Services in the law, justice and legal services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY22 Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act (LEMHWA) Implementation Projects" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.710.
• This funding opportunity was created on Mar 15, 2022.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 27, 2022. (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 $175,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 42 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for O COPS 2022 171165

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