VENTURA (Feb. 12, 2015) — The Board of State and Community Corrections today approved the awarding of $16.6 million in federal grant funds for a range of public safety projects over the next year, including those designed to reduce school violence, reduce gang involvement, provide detention alternatives to low-risk juveniles and increase graduation rates. The Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants will provide funding in each of three years and are subject to non-competitive renewal if counties meet performance objectives. The total amount counties would receive at the end of the grant cycle depends upon the annual federal allocation to the Bureau of Justice Assistance, which administers the grants nationally. At the current level of funding it could mean nearly $50 million to the counties over three years. On March 1, 2015 the BSCC will release the first of three annual installments to the 32 counties whose proposals were ranked most deserving by an Executive Steering Committee. The BSCC received 51 proposals for funding. Small counties could apply for up to $220,000 annually, medium counties $715,000 and large counties $1,045,625 (with the exception of Los Angeles, which was able to apply for up to $2,091,250). Leading up to the decision, the Executive Steering Committee surveyed stakeholders to determine California’s needs within the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s funding priority areas. The stakeholders rated crime prevention and education, law enforcement efforts to fight gangs, and court, prosecution and defense strategies as the top priorities. The ESC also included drug abuse prevention, drug enforcement and gun violence reduction, among other categories. In previous years the money had been used by law enforcement solely to fund narcotics task forces. A list of the winning counties with synopses of their proposals can be found here. For more information please contact Colleen Curtin at (916) 445-8066 or Colleen.Curtin@bscc.ca.gov or Daryle McDaniel at (916) 341-7392 or Daryle.McDaniel@bscc.ca.gov