Mental-Health-and-Wellness-Act-2020 | MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLNESS ACT 2020

Opportunity Information: Apply for MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLNESS ACT 2020

The Mental-Health-and-Wellness-Act-2020 grant opportunity (Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act, or LEMHWA) is a discretionary funding program from the U.S. Department of Justice, Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office). Its purpose is to strengthen mental health and wellness support for law enforcement personnel by expanding access to services and improving how those services are delivered. The program emphasizes practical, field-tested approaches, especially peer mentoring and peer support models, and it supports efforts that can be shared, replicated, and scaled across agencies.

LEMHWA 2020 funding is aimed at projects that build knowledge and awareness about effective mental health and wellness strategies for law enforcement, improve skills and capabilities within agencies to address mental health needs, and increase adoption of peer mentoring programs by law enforcement agencies and related stakeholders. The program supports work such as training and technical assistance, demonstration projects that test or showcase promising approaches, and implementation of practices that have shown positive results. The COPS Office frames this effort within its broader mission of supporting public safety through community policing, recognizing that officer wellness and organizational readiness are closely tied to effective policing outcomes.

The solicitation is organized around four main topic areas. First are Peer Support Implementation Projects, which focus on putting peer support or peer mentoring programs into practice within agencies or improving existing programs. Second is a National Peer Support Program for Small and Rural Agencies, intended to address the unique resource constraints and geographic challenges faced by smaller departments and rural jurisdictions by providing accessible peer support capacity and models that fit those environments. Third is a LEMHWA Coordinator Assistance Provider role, which generally implies a coordinating entity that can help organize, guide, and support program activities across participants, potentially through structured assistance, resources, and ongoing facilitation. Fourth is Invitational Applications, a category reserved for applicants specifically invited under the program rules; the application guide would define what qualifies and who may apply under that track.

Financially, the program makes up to approximately $4.3 million available in total funding, with an award ceiling of $350,000 per award and an expected 36 awards. Awards are issued for a 24-month (two-year) project period. Importantly for applicants, there is no local match requirement, which can reduce the financial barrier to participation. However, the solicitation notes that funds are limited and competition is expected to be strong, so proposals typically need clear goals, well-defined activities, realistic timelines, and measurable outcomes tied directly to officer mental health and wellness improvements and peer support adoption.

From an administrative standpoint, awards are issued primarily as cooperative agreements (and the listing also references grants), meaning there is substantial federal involvement during the project. In practice, this often indicates closer coordination with the federal awarding agency, more structured reporting and oversight, and collaborative engagement on deliverables or implementation milestones compared to a standard grant. Awards are also contingent on the availability of appropriated funds and any legal or policy requirements that may apply at the time of award.

Key timing details listed for this opportunity include a creation date of January 28, 2020, and an original application closing date of March 31, 2020, with applications due by 7:59 p.m. EDT on 3/31/2020. Applications submitted after that deadline were not to be considered. The program is cataloged under CFDA number 16.710 and falls under the Law, Justice and Legal Services activity category. Eligibility is described broadly as "Others" with clarification referenced in an additional eligibility section of the solicitation materials, so prospective applicants would need to confirm eligibility by consulting the application guide for the specific eligible entity types and any topic-area-specific restrictions.

• The Department of Justice, Community Oriented Policing Services in the law, justice and legal services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Mental-Health-and-Wellness-Act-2020" 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 Jan 28, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Mar 31, 2020 The deadline for submitting applications in response to this grant announcement is 759 p.m. EDT on 3/31/2020. Applications submitted after this deadline will not be considered for funding.. (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 $350,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 36 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLNESS ACT 2020

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