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The Soros Justice Fellowships fund outstanding individuals to undertake projects that advance reform, spur debate, and catalyze change on a range of issues facing the U.S. criminal justice system. The fellowships are part of a larger effort within the Open Society Foundations to reduce the destructive impact of current criminal justice policies on the lives of individuals, families, and communities in the United States by challenging the overreliance on incarceration and extreme punishment, and ensuring a fair and accountable system of justice.

The OJJDP FY 2016 Juvenile Justice Emergency Planning Demonstration Program will provide resources for state, tribal, local, municipal and community organizations to develop, strengthen and implement emergency preparedness plans for juvenile justice facilities. These plans should be based upon the principles outlined in Emergency Planning for Juvenile Justice Residential Facilities, and should address the specific needs of children, youth, and families involved in the justice system, during an emergency.

This project will develop research-to-practice resources to advance the understanding, translation, and application of research and research-based strategies across four primary components of the juvenile justice system: (1) prevention and diversion, (2) community-based alternatives to placement, (3) detention and secure confinement, and (4) reentry. The intent of this project is to assist OJJDP, practitioners, and researchers with the translation and dissemination of research findings to be more understandable, useful, and strategically targeted. This project will collect and analyze current research findings on effective juvenile justice practices and develop innovative and easily accessible, consumable resources and tools for juvenile justice practitioners, administrators, and policymakers. The project will assist OJJDP in identifying and synthesizing relevant research into actionable, evidence-based practice tools to improve public safety and the effectiveness of the juvenile justice system.

This project will develop research-to-practice resources to advance the understanding, translation, and application of research and research-based strategies across four primary components of the juvenile justice system: (1) prevention and diversion, (2) community-based alternatives to placement, (3) detention and secure confinement, and (4) reentry. The intent of this project is to assist OJJDP, practitioners, and researchers with the translation and dissemination of research findings to be more understandable, useful, and strategically targeted. This project will collect and analyze current research findings on effective juvenile justice practices and develop innovative and easily accessible, consumable resources and tools for juvenile justice practitioners, administrators, and policymakers. The project will assist OJJDP in identifying and synthesizing relevant research into actionable, evidence-based practice tools to improve public safety and the effectiveness of the juvenile justice system.

The Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program (JMHCP) supports innovative cross- system collaboration for individuals with mental illnesses or co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders who come into contact with the justice system. BJA is seeking applications that demonstrate a collaborative project between criminal justice and mental health partners from eligible applicants to plan, implement, or expand a justice and mental health collaboration program. This program is authorized by the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act of 2004 (MIOTCRA) (Pub. L. 108-414) and the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Reauthorization and Improvement Act of 2008 (Pub. L. 110- 416).

Peru's criminal justice system faces significant challenges. Judicial processes are characterized by a lack of transparency, overload of cases, and lengthy delays. Justice sector institutions are hampered by limited resources and, according to public surveys, are broadly perceived to be corrupt. At the same time, access to justice is limited by an insufficient number of judges and court staff, case overload, cost of lawsuits, cultural and gender barriers, and fragmented service delivery. The United States Department of State, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, is seeking applications from qualified Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Educational Institutions and other qualified organizations for a Cooperative Agreement to implement a program entitled "Justice Sector Support Project (JSSP)."

The 2017 Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index Report indicated that "across Eastern and Southeast Europe, civil society organizations and independent media experienced challenges in their ability to monitor and criticize decision-makers." Moreover, perceived instances of selective justice in Moldova and widespread corruption are widely regarded as key impediments to substantive reform in the criminal justice system that also contribute to low public trust in justice sector institutions. An active civil society plays an important role in protecting fundamental rights by monitoring the local actions of law enforcement entities and justice sector institutions, which can contribute to productive communication and enhance public trust.

With this solicitation, NIJ seeks proposals to establish a Criminal Justice Testing and Evaluation Consortium. The consortium will inform NIJ’s R&D efforts, as well as, NIJ’s stakeholders - criminal justice practitioners, policymakers, researchers, federal partners, and private industry by (1) conducting technology foraging activities to identify technologies for potential use by criminal justice communities, (2) conducting characterization/comparative testing and evaluations on technologies and practices to disseminate information and/or promising practices for adoption, (3) administering the NIJ Compliance Testing Program (CTP) and (4) supporting the development, validation, and maintenance of criminal justice equipment standards.

Measuring Success in the Criminal Justice System's Response to Domestic/Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking: A Pilot Project will develop and pilot test a set of indicators for gauging success in the criminal justice system's response to VAWA crimes. OVW expects this project to produce outcome measures that OVW grantees engaged in law enforcement, prosecution, and/or court-based activities can use to track their progress in combating crimes addressed in the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). The indicators established through this project do not have to be comprehensive in scope. They do not have to cover the justice process from initial report through final disposition, and they do not have to address each VAWA crime. However, the indicators must be: a) authentically linked to good practices in the criminal justice response to VAWA crimes; b) matched to the activities grantees can undertake with OVW funding; c) useful to grantees for data-driven decision-making; d) feasible to implement, and e) minimally burdensome for grantees to use.

OJJDP envisions a nation where our children are healthy, educated, and free from violence. If they come into contact with the juvenile justice system, that contact should be rare, fair, and beneficial to them. OJJDP supports states and communities in their efforts to develop and implement effective and coordinated prevention and intervention programs and to improve the juvenile justice system so that it protects public safety, holds justice-involved youth appropriately accountable, and provides treatment and rehabilitative services tailored to the needs of youth and their families. This program will assist OJJDP in coordination and assessment of its juvenile justice reform programs.

The National Institute of Corrections (NIC) is soliciting proposals from organizations, groups, or individuals to enter into a cooperative agreement for a 15-month period to begin no later than August 31, 2013. Work under this cooperative agreement will involve the development and pilot of a training curriculum targeted toward teams of pretrial justice stakeholders who have the primary responsibility of developing and maintaining the pretrial justice system within their jurisdiction. This curriculum is intended to prepare these teams to plan, develop, and implement critical policy and systemwide pretrial decisions in a collaborative structure based on the most current legal and evidence-based pretrial knowledge. These teams must have the participation of the judge, prosecutor, defense attorney, sheriff or jail administrator, and pretrial director, who have primary oversight of pretrial justice in their jurisdiction. The curriculum will help teams explore their independent and collaborative roles in the development and daily operational functions of maintaining pretrial justice within their jurisdiction. This project will be a collaborative venture with the NIC Community Services Division.

The National Institute of Corrections (NIC) is soliciting proposals from organizations, groups, or individuals to enter into a cooperative agreement for a 15-month period to begin no later than August 15, 2013. Work under this cooperative agreement will be an extension of the NIC's Evidence-Based Decision Making (EBDM) in Local Criminal Justice Systems initiative. It will require the coordination of jurisdictions receiving technical assistance under EBDM and review of work produced under other cooperative agreements that resulted in deliverables under EBDM.Work under this cooperative agreement will involve all activities necessary to plan for the successful implementation of EBDM in a statewide structure. Specifically, the awardee will plan a comprehensive structure for implementation, including development of a technical assistance (TA) plan and the tools required to build capacity to implement EBDM within local jurisdictions and state-level criminal justice planning committees. The awardee will also revise "A Framework for Evidence-Based Decision Making in Local Criminal Justice Systems" to include needed content changes and additions to support statewide implementation; develop activities and tools needed to select a state that, through an identified process, is determined to have the greatest potential for successful planning and implementation of EBDM at the statewide level; provide TA to current EBDM sites and their states' criminal justice coordinating counsels and executive administration in preparation for statewide planning for EBDM implementation. This project will be a collaborative venture with the NIC Community Services Division.

NIJ, in partnership with the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), is seeking proposals under the Data Resources Program (DRP) for original research using existing data available from the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD) and other public sources. NACJD houses quantitative and qualitative data from research funded by these three agencies. The data are made available online at no cost as downloadable, machine-readable files. Copies of documentation, such as user guides and codebooks, are also available at no charge. NACJD is maintained by the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research at the University of Michigan and is supported by NIJ, BJS, and OJJDP. Highest priority will be given to research that addresses compelling crime and criminal justice questions involving juvenile and adult populations, and that uses NIJ, BJS, or OJJDP data at NACJD.

The Justice Accountability Initiative (JAI) is a data-driven approach that can help state, local, and tribal criminal justice agencies analyze, understand, and address reducing recidivism and crime. The overall goal of JAI is to reduce crime by reducing the risk of recidivism, particularly violent recidivism. State and local agencies can accomplish this goal by creating and improving risk prediction tools , needs assessments and supervision plans, and building data-sharing and notification systems across criminal justice stakeholders. These strategies will also save in costs and improve operational efficiencies that can be reinvested in proven strategies to reduce crime and recidivism.

The United States Embassy in Podgorica supports specific projects and initiatives that facilitate the engagement of Montenegrin citizens in criminal justice reform efforts through grant awards up to $100,000. The main goal of the program is to help Montenegro transition to a more effective and transparent criminal justice system by engaging citizens in the process through watchdog and monitoring activities, advocacy and policy-making, research, and public education. Grants are awarded to U.S. and local non-governmental organizations (NGOs), media, or other organizations that have a proven track record in the criminal justice field and good organizational capacities.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) is seeking applications for the FY 2018 National Initiatives: Preventing Violence Against Law Enforcement Officers and Ensuring Officer Resilience and Survivability (VALOR) Initiative. This national initiative furthers the Department mission by improving the criminal justice system; enhancing law enforcement safety, wellness, resilience, and survivability; and providing support to efforts including training and technical assistance programs strategically targeted to address law enforcement safety and wellness needs.

DOJ’s Global Justice Information Sharing Initiative (Global) is designed to engage the full range of criminal justice policymakers and practitioners in the development of innovative strategies to improve the justice information sharing (JIS) and technology capabilities of state, local and tribal agencies. In order to be effective, Global’s approach requires training and technical assistance (TTA) to adequately engage stakeholders; facilitate working groups and task teams; develop products and publications; and offer implementation support to the field. The FY 2018 Global solicitation is designed to enhance Global’s ability to achieve its goals through the provision of TTA support.

NIDA is interested in research that addresses research gaps related to the delivery of integrated treatment services for HIV and opioid use disorder (OUD) among the justice-involved population in the US, with a goal of improving treatment management and implementation. A quarter of people with HIV pass through the justice system each year, making it an important system for HIV prevention and treatment. Community re-entry from incarceration is a time of heightened risk for opioid relapse, mortality, HIV risk behaviors, and discontinuation of HIV treatment. Given these elevated levels of risk, justice-involved PWID should be prioritized for screening and linkage to the full continuum of HIV prevention and treatment services, including Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). There is a need to better understand the effectiveness of the clinical interventions as received in this population, as well as the methods by which those interventions are delivered (navigation/mobile services).

The Soros Justice Fellowships Program's Media Fellowships support writers, print and broadcast journalists, bloggers, filmmakers, and other individuals with distinctive voices proposing to complete media projects that engage and inform, spur debate and conversation, and catalyze change on important U.S. criminal justice issues. The Media Fellowships aim to mitigate the time, space, and market constraints that often discourage individuals from pursuing vital but marginalized, controversial, or unpopular topics in comprehensive and creative ways. Media Fellowships are 12 months in duration, and fellows are expected to make their projects their full-time work during the term of the fellowship. Projects can begin in either the spring or fall of 2014.

Through this competitive solicitation, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) is seeking a professional or scholarly society to administer a BJS-sponsored Faculty Research Fellowship Program. This fellowship program aims to increase the pool of researchers who use criminal justice statistical data generated by BJS, thereby contributing solutions that better prevent and control crime and help ensure the fair and impartial administration of criminal justice in the United States. The research fellowships envisioned will be relatively small-scale projects that can be completed within 6 months.