FY22 Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act (LEMHWA) National Level Training and Technical Assistance | O COPS 2022 171164

Opportunity Information: Apply for O COPS 2022 171164

The FY22 Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act (LEMHWA) National Level Training and Technical Assistance opportunity is a competitive, discretionary federal funding program run by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office). It is designed to strengthen mental health and wellness supports for law enforcement personnel by helping agencies expand access to services and implement proven wellness approaches. The grant is grounded in the broader community policing philosophy, which emphasizes partnerships and problem-solving to address the conditions that contribute to crime and community fear while also improving trust and legitimacy between law enforcement and the communities they serve. In practice, this solicitation connects officer wellness efforts to effective community policing by treating the health of the workforce as a key input to safer, more consistent, and more trusted public safety services.

Funding through LEMHWA is focused on improving the delivery of, and access to, mental health and wellness resources for officers through concrete program elements such as peer support, training, family-oriented resources, suicide prevention, and other promising wellness practices. The COPS Office also frames this work within a larger set of departmental priorities, including advancing civil rights and racial equity, expanding access to justice, supporting victims and justice-impacted individuals, strengthening community safety, and responding to evolving public safety threats. The legal authority for the program comes from the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (as amended) and the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, with awards contingent on appropriations and any additional legal requirements that may apply.

This particular solicitation is structured as an open competition using a cooperative agreement, meaning awardees should expect an active federal role in project oversight and deliverable development. Applicants are allowed to submit multiple applications, but each proposed project must be submitted as a separate application. A key screening requirement is that each application clearly identifies the relevant sub-category, which is either National Peer Support Training or LEMHWA Implementation Technical Assistance and Resources; failing to clearly label the sub-category can prevent an application from moving past the initial minimum-requirements review.

The COPS Office signals that funded recipients should be prepared to start work quickly after selection and notification. Deliverables must align with COPS Office standards and processes, including the COPS Office Curriculum Standards and Review Process (for training and similar products), the COPS Office conference request approval process (for convenings), and the COPS Office Editorial and Style Manual (for written products and publications). For projects that involve work with specific sites or agencies, letters of support from those targeted agencies are strongly encouraged, since they help demonstrate readiness, access, and the practical feasibility of carrying out the proposed technical assistance or training activities.

At a high level, the program aims to support projects that identify, refine, and scale promising practices and produce practical knowledge products that follow recognized principles of strong guidance. The solicitation emphasizes that outputs should be quality-driven (including clear action statements that reduce inconsistency in performance), evidence-based (grounded in the best available research, ideally identified through systematic review), accessible (plain language, usable length, and relevance to real-world law enforcement settings), and memorable (designed to be applied quickly in complex, high-stress situations). These expectations point to an applied, practitioner-facing approach rather than purely academic research, with a clear preference for products and support that agencies can implement without excessive translation or interpretation.

Applicants are asked to describe project-specific goals in a way that maps to several outcome categories. These include developing knowledge (creating new insights or organizing existing knowledge about community policing and wellness strategies that show promise), increasing awareness (expanding the number of agencies and practitioners who know about effective approaches), increasing skills and abilities (building capability through training, tools, and guidance), increasing practice (driving adoption and actual use of proven approaches across agencies and stakeholders), and institutionalizing practice (embedding these strategies into routine operations so they persist beyond the period of federal support). Applicants are also expected to consider COPS Office performance measures when designing activities and deliverables, which reinforces that proposals should include concrete outputs, adoption strategies, and measurable indicators of reach and impact.

From the opportunity details provided, the funding opportunity number is O-COPS-2022-171164 and the CFDA number is 16.710. The estimated award ceiling is $250,000, with an expectation of two awards. The opportunity was posted March 15, 2022, and had an original closing date of April 27, 2022. Eligibility is listed broadly as "Others" with further clarification referenced in the full eligibility section of the solicitation. For program questions, the solicitation directs applicants to the COPS Office Response Center by phone at 800-421-6770 or by email at AskCopsRC@usdoj.gov during standard weekday business hours (Eastern Time), excluding federal holidays.

• The Department of Justice, Community Oriented Policing Services in the law, justice and legal services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY22 Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act (LEMHWA) National Level Training and Technical Assistance" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.710.
• This funding opportunity was created on Mar 15, 2022.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 27, 2022. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $250,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 2 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for O COPS 2022 171164

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