OJJDP FY24 National Center for Missing and Exploited Children – Invited to Apply | O OJJDP 2024 172229

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the OJJDP FY24 National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) - Invited to Apply opportunity?

This is a discretionary federal funding opportunity from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). It is designed to sustain and strengthen key national functions carried out by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), including prevention, response, investigative support, and efforts tied to missing and exploited children.

Which federal agency is offering this funding?

The funding is offered by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP).

Is this a competitive grant opportunity open to the public?

No. The solicitation is labeled "Invited to Apply," which indicates it is not broadly competitive in the typical sense and is intended for a specific applicant or a narrow set of eligible entities. The description references NCMEC directly, reinforcing that it is purpose-built for NCMEC's national role.

What type of award is being used?

The award is structured as a cooperative agreement. This generally means OJJDP expects substantial involvement in the funded work through coordination, shared planning, reporting, and performance oversight, rather than simply issuing funds with minimal federal engagement.

What is the CFDA number for this program?

The program is listed under CFDA 16.543.

What is the primary focus area of the program?

The focus is on law, justice, and legal services tied directly to child protection, missing children recovery, and responses to child sexual exploitation.

How are the funded activities organized in the solicitation?

The solicitation describes three categories of NCMEC program activities. Together, they cover prevention, response, and investigative support at a national scale.

What is included in Category 1?

Category 1 centers on NCMEC's National Resource Center and Clearinghouse. It is described as a nationwide hub for information, tools, and training intended to prevent child abduction and sexual exploitation, help locate missing children, and support victims and their families.

Who is expected to benefit from Category 1 training and technical assistance?

Category 1 includes technical assistance and training for professionals who encounter these cases, including law enforcement, prosecutors, child welfare personnel, educators, medical professionals, victim advocates, and others involved in child protection and investigative work.

What is the purpose of Category 1 beyond responding to cases?

Category 1 emphasizes improving system capacity through vetted resources, guidance, and knowledge sharing so that communities and agencies can respond faster, coordinate better, and reduce harm.

What is included in Category 2?

Category 2 supports operational work for the National AMBER Alert Program, with specific focus on the AMBER Alert Secondary Distribution (AASD) Program, Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA), and Team Adam deployments.

What does Category 2 aim to accomplish in practical terms?

Category 2 is focused on ensuring urgent child abduction alerts can be distributed rapidly and reliably across modern communications channels, including mobile alerting through Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA), while supporting the infrastructure and partnerships that help alerts reach the public, media, platforms, and participating systems.

What is Team Adam in the context of this solicitation?

Team Adam is described as an on-the-ground deployment capability that can provide specialized assistance to law enforcement during critical missing child cases, helping agencies expand search and investigative capacity quickly when time is most critical.

What is included in Category 3?

Category 3 supports the Children's Justice Project by providing resources to address the unidentified human remains of children, strengthening efforts that help identify these children and improve investigative coordination.

Why does Category 3 focus on unidentified human remains of children?

The solicitation describes this as a major gap: when remains are discovered but a child's identity is unknown, it delays notification to families and prevents accountability and case closure. Category 3 is intended to strengthen efforts to connect unidentified remains to missing child cases.

What kinds of work are supported under Category 3?

The description notes that this work can involve cross-jurisdictional information sharing, forensic and investigative assistance, improved investigative coordination, and better access to specialized expertise to help identify children.

Who is eligible to apply for this opportunity?

The eligible applicants field is listed as "Others," and the solicitation is labeled "Invited to Apply." The description repeatedly references NCMEC as the operator and program recipient, indicating the opportunity is intended for NCMEC's national role rather than broad eligibility.

What is the funding opportunity number?

The funding opportunity number is O-OJJDP-2024-172229.

When is the application closing date?

The original application closing date is August 29, 2024.

How many awards does OJJDP expect to make?

The expected number of awards is three.

What is the award ceiling listed in the solicitation?

The listed award ceiling is $38,994,666.

Do the three categories correspond to separate awards?

The solicitation states an expected number of three awards and describes three activity categories. Based on the information provided, this suggests the categories may align with separate awards or separate funding components under the overall NCMEC program umbrella.

What is the overall goal of this federal investment?

Overall, the opportunity supports national, high-impact public safety and child protection functions: preventing and responding to child abduction and exploitation, operating and improving national alerting and rapid response mechanisms, and addressing unresolved cases involving unidentified deceased children.

What does OJJDP appear to prioritize through this cooperative agreement?

Based on the description, OJJDP is prioritizing continuity of operations, nationwide technical assistance and training, and the operational backbone required to move information quickly and effectively among the public, law enforcement, and child-serving systems.