COPS-HIRING-PROGRAM-APPLICATION-2017 | COPS HIRING PROGRAM APPLICATION 2017

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): COPS Hiring Program (CHP) 2017

What is the COPS Hiring Program (CHP) 2017?

The COPS Hiring Program (CHP) 2017 was a discretionary grant offered by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office). It was designed to directly fund state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies so they could hire or rehire full-time, sworn career law enforcement officers to expand community policing capacity and strengthen local crime prevention efforts.

What is the Funding Opportunity Number and CFDA number for CHP 2017?

The Funding Opportunity Number was COPS HIRING PROGRAM APPLICATION 2017, and the CFDA number was 16.710.

Was CHP 2017 a competitive or open solicitation?

The CHP 2017 solicitation was described as an open solicitation, meaning eligible agencies could apply within the application window rather than being limited to a narrow pilot group.

Who was eligible to apply?

All state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies with primary law enforcement authority were eligible to apply.

Did an applicant need to have its own police department to be eligible?

An applicant needed to have an operational police department by the application closing date (July 10, 2017) or receive law enforcement services through a new or existing contract.

How did eligibility work for jurisdictions that contract for law enforcement services?

For jurisdictions relying on contracted law enforcement services (such as a town contracting with a neighboring sheriff's office), the guidance specified that the agency seeking to receive the law enforcement services had to be the legal applicant, particularly when grant funds would be used as part of a written contracting agreement.

What did CHP 2017 funding pay for?

CHP 2017 funding was intended to support the hiring or rehiring of full-time, sworn career law enforcement officers. The grant covered salary and fringe benefits based on the agency's current entry-level amounts for such positions.

What was the grant period length?

The grant period was three years (36 months).

How much of an officer's cost would CHP 2017 cover?

CHP 2017 would cover up to 75 percent of the approved entry-level salary and fringe benefits for each funded officer position over the 36-month grant period.

Was a local match required?

Yes. Agencies were required to provide at least a 25 percent local cash match.

Was there a cap on the federal funding per officer position?

Yes. The maximum federal share was capped at $125,000 per officer position over the life of the award.

How was the grant amount calculated for each officer?

The grant calculation was tied to the agency's current entry-level salary and fringe benefits for full-time sworn officers.

What if the agency pays a hired or rehired officer above entry level?

If an agency paid a hire above entry level (for example, due to experience, step increases, or negotiated pay scales), the additional cost beyond the entry-level amount was the responsibility of the grantee agency and could not be covered by the federal award.

How many officer positions could an agency request?

Requests were capped at no more than 5 percent of the agency's actual sworn force strength (as reported at the time of the updated application), with an absolute maximum request of 25 officer positions.

How did population-based caps affect the number of positions an agency could request?

Population-based caps further limited requests. Agencies serving populations of 1 million or more could apply for up to 25 officer positions. Agencies serving populations under 1 million could apply for up to 15 officer positions.

What was the limit for very small agencies?

Any agency with a sworn force of 20 or fewer officers could request funding for only one officer position.

What hiring scenarios were allowable under CHP 2017?

CHP 2017 allowed three primary scenarios: (1) hiring new officers, including filling existing officer vacancies that were no longer funded in the agency budget; (2) rehiring officers already laid off from any jurisdiction due to state, local, or Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) budget reductions, as long as the rehiring occurred on or after the official grant award start date; and (3) rehiring officers who were scheduled to be laid off in the future due to state, local, or BIA budget reductions, with specific requirements about timing and continued local funding up to the layoff date.

Could CHP 2017 funds be used to fill existing vacancies?

Yes. Agencies could use CHP 2017 to hire new officers, including filling existing officer vacancies that were no longer funded in the agency budget.

Could CHP 2017 funds be used to rehire officers who were already laid off?

Yes. Agencies could rehire officers who had already been laid off from any jurisdiction due to state, local, or BIA budget reductions, as long as the rehiring occurred on or after the official grant award start date listed in the award document.

What documentation was expected for rehiring previously laid-off officers?

Agencies were expected to maintain documentation showing when the positions were laid off and when they were rehired.

Could CHP 2017 funds be used for officers scheduled to be laid off in the future?

Yes. Agencies could apply to rehire officers who, at the time of application, were scheduled to be laid off in the future due to state, local, or BIA budget reductions.

If officers were scheduled for future layoff, what did the agency have to do until the layoff date?

The agency had to continue paying for those positions with local funds until the scheduled layoff dates.

If applying for positions scheduled for future layoff, what details needed to be included?

The application needed to identify both the layoff dates and the number of positions affected.

Were School Resource Officers (SROs) an allowable use of CHP 2017 funds?

Yes. CHP 2017 explicitly allowed funds to support School Resource Officers (SROs), with specific deployment expectations tied to community policing in school settings.

What were the time-allocation requirements for funded SROs?

Officers placed into SRO roles had to spend at least 75 percent of their time in and around primary and/or secondary schools working on youth-related activities.

Did the SRO funding need to increase school-based policing beyond existing levels?

Yes. The funded SRO time had to be above and beyond what the agency was already dedicating to schools prior to receiving the grant, meaning the award needed to increase school-based community policing activity rather than replace existing assignments.

When did the CHP 2017 application period open and close?

The opportunity was created on May 22, 2017, and the application closing date was July 10, 2017.

What was the award ceiling listed for CHP 2017?

The listed award ceiling was $3,125,000.

How many awards were expected to be made?

The program expected to make about 1,500 awards.

What is meant by a cost-sharing arrangement in CHP 2017?

In CHP 2017, cost-sharing meant the federal award could pay up to 75 percent of approved entry-level salary and fringe benefits, while the agency had to contribute at least 25 percent in local cash match, with the agency also responsible for any costs above entry level.

Were the requested officer positions intended to be proportional to agency size?

Yes. The combination of the 5 percent sworn-force cap, the absolute maximum, the population-based caps, and the special rule for agencies with 20 or fewer sworn officers were intended to keep awards proportional to agency size and distribute funds across many jurisdictions.