Trauma-Responsive Training and Resources for Community Supervision Agencies | 25CS02

Opportunity Information: Apply for 25CS02

The National Institute of Corrections (NIC) is offering a cooperative agreement funding opportunity called "Trauma-Responsive Training and Resources for Community Supervision Agencies" (Funding Opportunity Number 25CS02). The goal is to help community supervision agencies strengthen how they work with people under supervision by moving beyond general trauma-informed awareness and into practical, trauma-responsive skills that staff can use in day-to-day interactions. The opportunity is rooted in the idea that trauma is widespread and that agencies can unintentionally re-traumatize people through standard procedures, communication styles, or service delivery approaches. NIC is looking to support work that creates environments that promote healing and recovery while also recognizing that being trauma-informed is an ongoing organizational commitment that applies to the workforce as much as it applies to the people receiving services.

A key feature of this opportunity is NIC's distinction between trauma-informed practices and trauma-responsive practices. Trauma-informed practice is framed around understanding and embedding the six core principles: safety, trustworthiness, peer support, collaboration, empowerment, and attention to cultural, historical, and gender issues. Trauma-responsive practice goes a step further by emphasizing what staff should actually do with those principles in real situations. In other words, it is not enough for staff to be familiar with trauma concepts; they must also be equipped with concrete strategies and approaches for applying those principles consistently when supervising, communicating with, and making decisions about individuals on supervision.

The description connects this effort to the foundational trauma-informed care work described by Harris and Fallot (2001), which emphasized universal screening and assessment, avoiding re-traumatization through how services are delivered, and understanding the biopsychosocial impacts of trauma. NIC notes that while trauma-informed care has been widely adopted in medical and mental health settings, interest has expanded across other systems, including corrections and supervision. The opportunity also reflects a practical policy trend: states are increasingly writing trauma-informed training requirements into statute for state agencies, which creates a growing demand for credible, supervision-specific training and resources that agencies can use to meet those expectations.

Funding details are straightforward. NIC expects to make one award with a ceiling of $150,000. The instrument type is a cooperative agreement, which typically means NIC anticipates having substantial involvement in the project (for example, through collaboration on deliverables, guidance, and coordination). The opportunity is categorized as "Other" under both the Opportunity Category and Funding Activity Category, and it is associated with CFDA number 16.601. The original application closing date listed is October 15, 2024, and the opportunity record creation date is August 16, 2024.

Eligibility includes nonprofit organizations (including faith-based, community, and tribal organizations), for-profit organizations (including tribal for-profit organizations), and institutions of higher education (including tribal institutions). A critical condition is that recipients, including for-profit entities, must agree to waive any profit or fee for services, meaning the award is not intended to generate profit from the federally supported work. Foreign governments, international organizations, and non-governmental international organizations or institutions are not eligible. Applicants must provide proof of 501(c)(3) status from the IRS or an authorizing tribal resolution.

NIC also allows partnership-based applications involving two or more entities, but the arrangement must be structured with one eligible entity as the primary applicant and the others as subrecipients. The primary applicant must take full responsibility for administering the funds and managing the overall program. Finally, NIC will accept only one application per submitting organization, so organizations need to consolidate internal efforts and submit a single, coordinated proposal if multiple departments or units are interested.

• The National Institute of Corrections in the other sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Trauma-Responsive Training and Resources for Community Supervision Agencies" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.601.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-08-16.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-10-15. (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 $150,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for 25CS02

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