Governor Laura Kelly, on behalf of the Kansas Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, announced Wednesday the 2019 grant awards for the Federal Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant program. The grant program is a partnership among federal, state and local governments to create safer communities and improve criminal justice systems.

“I’m pleased to announce these important grants available to improve the safety of Kansas communities and families,” said Kelly. “Our law enforcement offices, nonprofits and community health organizations do much to keep our citizens safe. I commend them for their work and look forward to continuing to partner with them to improve many aspects of our criminal justice system.”

Northwest Kansas agencies receiving grants include Norton County, Rawlins County and Scott County.

The JAG program provides funds to criminal justice system partners in addressing crime and improving public safety. The KCJCC established four primary areas for distributing these funds that include; reducing recidivism, improving law enforcement technology and officer safety, improving victim services and supporting projects that enhance the functionality of the Kansas criminal justice information system.

The Governor also announced the Federal Residential Substance Abuse Treatment of State Prisoners Grant Program (RSAT) grant award. The Kansas Department of Corrections was awarded $119,046 by the KCJCC. The funds are used for treatment of adult inmates.

The KCJCC also awarded the Kansas Bureau of Investigation $716,746 from the Federal National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP) grant program. The goal of the program is to improve the quality of the criminal history record information in support of background check systems.

The Kansas Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (KCJCC) oversees the criminal justice federal funding made available to Kansas through the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance. The KCJCC is representative of the Governor, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Corrections, the Superintendent of the Kansas Highway Patrol, and the Director of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.

A total of $3,283,907 was awarded to 41 agencies.