Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) Notice of Funding Opportunity Law Enforcement/Prosecution-Based Assistance NOFO # 1745-0701

Link to NOFO Information and Instructions

The Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority is requesting proposals for the Law Enforcement/Prosecution-Based Assistance program. Grants will be made with Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) FFY24 funds. A total of $1,587,306 in funding in VOCA is available through this solicitation for use over a period of 12 months.

Available Deadline: 5:00 PM CST., August 8, 2025

Program Requirements

This funding opportunity will support the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) Law Enforcement/Prosecution-Based Assistance program which will fund advocate position(s) to provide direct services to victims of crime through municipal police departments, county sheriff’s agencies, and state’s attorney’s offices. Advocates are required to provide crisis intervention and case management to crime victims. Services funded under this funding opportunity must be located within the offices of a law enforcement agency or state’s attorney’s office.

A crime victim is a person who has suffered physical, sexual, financial, or emotional harm as a result of the commission of a crime.

Direct services for crime victims include those described in 42 U.S.C. 10603(d)(2) and efforts that:

1. Respond to the emotional, psychological, or physical needs of crime victims.
2. Assist victims to stabilize their lives after victimization.
3. Assist victims to understand and participate in the criminal justice system.
4. Restore a measure of security and safety for the victim.

Applicants may apply for funding to support staffing, staff training, supervision of direct services, and office equipment to create or expand an existing victim service program.

All activities supported with this award must fall outside of the normal scope of any active investigation or prosecution of criminal activities. Grant funds cannot be used to facilitate witness participation in criminal justice proceedings. Victim eligibility for services cannot be contingent upon participation in the criminal justice process. Services also must be made available after a victim’s involvement with the criminal justice system has ended by either the applicant agency or referral to a victim service provider.

Eligibility Information

Before applying for a grant, all entities must be registered through the Grant Accountability and Transparency Act (GATA) Grantee Portal at https://grants.illinois.gov/portal/ and in Good Standing for all pre-qualification requirements. Registration and pre-qualification are required annually. During pre-qualification, verifications are performed including a check of federal SAM.gov Exclusion List and status on the Illinois Stop Payment List. The Grantee Portal alerts the entity alerts of “qualified” status or informs how to remediate a negative verification (e.g., missing UEI Unique Entity Identifier assigned in sam.gov, not in good standing with the Secretary of State). Inclusion on the SAM.gov Exclusion List cannot be remediated.

Failure to meet an eligibility criterion by the application deadline will result in the return of the application without review and will preclude ICJIA from making a State award.

Applicants are also required to submit and obtain approval of a financial and administrative risk assessment utilizing an Internal Controls Questionnaire (ICQ) before execution of the grant agreement. Delay in obtaining ICQ approval will result in a delay in grant execution.

Victim service agencies may apply to provide services within a law enforcement agency or state’s attorney’s office but must submit with their application a draft Memorandum of Understanding between the applicant agency and the law enforcement agency or state’s attorney’s office that details agency collaboration, proposed services, program location, and designated liaisons in both agencies who will coordinate program implementation and ensure program objectives are met. An MOU must be submitted to ICJIA for review prior to execution of the grant agreement.

Eligible Applicants

Applicants must represent a public agency or nonprofit organization, or a combination of such organizations, and provide direct services to crime victims. Nonprofit organizations must submit proof of 501©(3) status as determined by the Internal Revenue Service.

Applicants must be pre-qualified to do business with the State of Illinois.

Deadline

Completed application materials must be submitted via AmpliFund by 5:00 p.m., August 8, 2025, to be considered for funding. Proposals will not be accepted by email, mail, fax, or in-person. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed. Late submissions cannot be submitted and will not be reviewed.

Available Funds

Grants available through this funding opportunity are a portion of VOCA FFY24 funds. A minimum of $1,587,306 dollars will be made available through this funding opportunity. Applicants may request a minimum of $55,000 and a maximum of $500,000 in grant funding. Funding minimum and maximum values are based on the population served by county or municipality, as follows:

Agreements that result from this funding opportunity are contingent upon and subject to the availability of funds.

Period of Performance

Funding is available for the period January 1, 2026, through December 31, 2026.

Timeline

Reporting

Recipients must submit periodic financial reports, periodic performance reports, final financial and performance reports, and, a calendar year end financial report in accordance with the CFR Part 200 Uniform Requirements. Future awards and fund drawdowns may be withheld if reports are delinquent.

Required Documents

The following documents must be completed in Amplifund by the 5:00 P.M., August 8, 2025, deadline for application review.

• Uniform State Grant Application
• Budget and Budget Narrative
• Performance Metrics
• Implementation Schedule

DOWNLOAD NOFO PACKET ZIP FILE HERE

Questions

Questions regarding this NOFO may be submitted to CJA.VOCA.LEPROS25@Illinois.gov until 5:00 P.M., July 31, 2025.

All substantive questions and responses will be posted. Updates to NOFO materials, and questions from applicants and their responses are revised weekly. View them on our website and on AmpliFund here.

Due to the competitive nature of this solicitation, applicants may not discuss this opportunity directly or indirectly with any ICJIA employee other than the respondent of this email address.

Contact Information

Haley Aubrey
Victim Services Program Manager
Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority
CJA.VOCA.LEPROS25@Illinois.gov