← All grants

BJA FY 2026 Second Chance Act Improving Reentry Education and Employment Outcomes

Bureau of Justice Assistance · Opportunity O-BJA-2026-172698

Who can apply

• State governments
• County governments
• City or township governments
• Special district governments
• Independent school districts
• Public and State institutions of higher education
• Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)
• Native American tribal organizations (other)
• Private institutions of higher education
• For-profit organizations other than small businesses
• Small businesses
• Others

Other Units of Local Government: For the purposes of this notice of funding opportunity, other units of local government include towns, boroughs, parishes, villages, or other general purpose political subdivisions of a state.; Faith-based Organizations: Religious organizations, faith-based nonprofits, and organizations with religious charters, names, or missions.

About this opportunity

This is a notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) for BJA FY 2026 Second Chance Act (SCA) Improving Reentry Education and Employment Outcomes. This opportunity supports state, local, and tribal governments and community-based organizations to provide education and employment programs for adults and youth leaving prison and jail. The goal of the program is to improve academic and vocational/trade programs available to adults and youth in prisons and jails and expand workforce development and career pathways that result in improved job readiness, employment attainment, and retention, thereby improving employment prospects and reducing recidivism. Applicants may consider proposing projects that develop marketable skills, leverage technology, and build capacity to align with their local job market and engage in the digital economy.

Portfolio context — this listing covers more than this opportunity

This opportunity is funded under Assistance Listing 16.812 (“Second Chance Act Reentry Initiative”), a broad federal program that made about 85 new awards per year over the last five fiscal years (median award $784k). Those figures describe that whole portfolio — not this specific solicitation, so we don't show them as if they were this opportunity's track record.

Applicant counts per solicitation are not published by any federal agency — no one can honestly sell you that number.

Apply on grants.gov →

Don't want to hunt for grants like this one? Get free deadline alerts for your state and focus areas.

Consultant or grant writer? See the client-ready Opportunity Brief for this grant — actual award sizes vs. the advertised ceiling, who wins, printable "prepared for your client" version.

Similar grants still open