FY 2018 National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP)

(Solicitation)
The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) is publishing this notice to announce the
continuation of the National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP) in fiscal
year (FY) 2018, identify the program priorities, and provide information on
application requirements.

The NCHIP grant program aims to improve the nation’s safety and security by
enhancing
the quality, completeness, and accessibility of criminal history record information
and
by ensuring the nationwide implementation of criminal justice and noncriminal
justice
background check systems. Achieving this goal is contingent on accomplishing four
objectives:

• Providing direct financial and technical assistance to states and tribes
  to
  improve their criminal records systems and other related systems in an effort to
  support background checks
• Ensuring the infrastructure is developed to connect criminal history records
  systems to the state record repository or appropriate federal agency record system
  and
  ensuring records are accessible through the FBI records systems
• Providing the training and technical assistance needed to ensure that records
  systems are developed and managed to conform to FBI standards and appropriate
  technologies, while ensuring that contributing agencies adhere to the highest
  standards
  of practice with respect to privacy and confidentiality
• Using systematic evaluation and standardized performance measurement and
  statistics
  to assess progress made in improving national records holdings and background check
  systems.

The NCHIP serves as an umbrella for various record improvement activities and
funding
streams, each of which has unique goals and objectives. As a basic principle of
this
program, BJS strongly encourages states and tribes to ensure the integrated
functioning
of record improvement initiatives, regardless of the funding source. Also, BJS
urges
applicants to match or leverage the federal funds provided with other resources, to
the
maximum extent possible.
All applications are due by 11:59 time p.m. eastern time on May 14, 2018.