alert - warning

This page has not been translated into Kreyòl. Visit the Kreyòl page for resources in that language.

FY 2023 Homeland Security Grant Program Fact Sheet

Release Date:
Fevriye 27, 2023

Download a PDF copy of this webpage.

In Fiscal Year (FY) 2023, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is providing $1.12 billion to enhance the ability of state, local, tribal, and territorial governments to prevent, prepare for, protect against, and respond to potential terrorist acts and other hazards.

 

Overview

The FY 2023 Homeland Security Grant Program (HSGP) is one of three grant programs that support the DHS/Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) focus on enhancing the ability of state, local, tribal, and territorial governments, as well as nonprofit organizations, to prevent, prepare for, protect against, and respond to potential terrorist attacks. These grant programs are part of a comprehensive set of measures authorized by Congress and implemented by DHS to help strengthen the nation’s communities against potential terrorist attacks and other hazards. HSGP is composed of three grant programs:

  • State Homeland Security Program (SHSP);
  • Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI); and
  • Operation Stonegarden (OPSG).

Funding

In FY 2023, the total amount of funds under the HSGP is $1.12 billion. Below is the funding distribution across the three grant programs:

HSGP ProgramFY 2023 Allocation
SHSP$415 million
UASI$615 million
OPSG$90 million
Total$1.12 billion

Eligibility

The State Administrative Agency (SAA) is the only entity eligible to submit HSGP applications to FEMA, including those applications submitted on behalf of UASI and OPSG applicants. All 56 states and territories, which includes any state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, are eligible to apply for SHSP funds. A list of eligible urban areas is published in the FY 2023 HSGP Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), released on February 27, 2023. Tribal governments may not apply directly for HSGP funding; however, funding may be available to tribes through the SAA.

Eligible high-risk urban areas for the FY 2023 UASI program are determined through an analysis of relative risk of terrorism faced by the 100 most populous metropolitan statistical areas (MSA) in the United States. Sub-awards will be made by the SAA to the designated high-risk urban areas identified in the FY 2023 HSGP NOFO.

In FY 2023, OPSG eligible subrecipients are local units of government at the county level or equivalent level of government and federally recognized tribal governments in states bordering Canada or Mexico and states and territories with international water borders. All applicants must have active ongoing USBP operations coordinated through a CBP sector office to be eligible for OPSG funding.

Under the FY 2023 OPSG, subrecipients eligible to apply for and receive a sub-award directly from the SAA are divided into three tiers.

  • Tier 1 entities are local units of government at the county level or equivalent and federally recognized tribal governments that are on a physical border in states bordering Canada, states bordering Mexico, and states and territories with international water borders.
  • Tier 2 eligible subrecipients are those not located on the physical border or international water border but are contiguous to a Tier 1 county.
  • Tier 3 eligible subrecipients are those not located on the physical border or international water border but are contiguous to a Tier 2 eligible subrecipient. The tier structure is only applicable with regard to eligibility. OPSG funding allocations are based on the assessed border security risks as determined by the U.S. Border Patrol.

Funding Guidelines

The FY 2023 allocation process for SHSP, UASI, and OPSG are as follows:

SHSP Allocations

For FY 2023, FEMA will award SHSP funds based on risk as determined by FEMA’s relative risk methodology and statutory minimums pursuant to the Homeland Security Act of 2002, as amended. Final allocations are published in the FY 2023 HSGP NOFO.

UASI Allocations

For FY 2023, FEMA will award UASI funds based on risk as determined by FEMA’s relative risk methodology pursuant to the Homeland Security Act of 2002, as amended. Final allocations are published in the FY 2023 HSGP NOFO.

OPSG Allocations

For FY 2023, FEMA will award OPSG funds based on risk and the anticipated effectiveness of the proposed use of grant funds. The FY 2023 OPSG risk assessment is designed to identify the risk to border security and to assist with the distribution of funds for the grant program. Entities eligible for funding are the state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies that are located along the border of the United States. Final award amounts are based on FEMA’s evaluation of the effectiveness of proposed investments and projects.

Pass-Through Requirements

SAAs are required to pass-through at least 80% of SHSP and UASI funding to local or tribal units of government. For more information on the pass-through requirement, please refer to Section F.2 of the FY 2023 HSGP NOFO and Appendix A of the FY 2023 Preparedness Grants Manual.

National Priority Areas (NPAs) for SHSP and UASI and Minimum Spend Requirements

Overall, the required minimum spend on the FY 2023 NPAs for the SHSP and UASI programs remains consistent with the FY 2022 requirement – 30% as a percentage of the total SHSP and UASI allocation. Each SHSP and UASI applicant must dedicate the minimum spend (identified below where applicable) as a percentage of the total SHSP and UASI allocation per NPA. While the “enhancing cybersecurity” NPA has no minimum spend requirement, DHS strongly encourages recipients to make investments in this area as it is of critical national concern. Fifteen (15) percent is mandated in minimum spending across five of the six NPAs, but there is flexibility on the remaining 15% required to meet the overall 30% minimum spend requirement.

  1. Enhancing the protection of soft targets/crowded places – 3% minimum spend;
  2. Enhancing information and intelligence sharing and analysis– 3% minimum spend;
  3. Combating domestic violent extremism – 3% minimum spend;
  4. Enhancing cybersecurity – no minimum spend requirement;
  5. Enhancing community preparedness and resilience – 3% minimum spend; and
  6. Enhancing election security – NEW 3% minimum spend.

For the five NPAs that have an associated minimum spend, all projects related to meeting the minimum spend for those NPAs must be included in the same Investment Justification (IJ). Activities that support more than one NPA may be included under only one NPA IJ but still count towards the 30% minimum spend without having to be broken out into separate projects or activities in more than one IJ. Complete details on the FY 2023 HSGP allocation process are included in the FY 2023 HSGP NOFO.

Law Enforcement Terrorism Prevention Activities (LETPA)

SAAs must allocate at least 35% of their SHSP and UASI awards to LETPAs, up from 30% in FY 2022. Please refer to Section C.3.c of the FY 2023 HSGP NOFO, Appendix A of the FY 2023 Preparedness Grants Manual, and a forthcoming Information Bulletin for the FY 2023 HSGP for additional guidance and information on allowable LETPAs. Investments that support LETPAs can also support an NPA (e.g., an investment can be counted as supporting both the Soft Targets/Crowded Places and LETPA minimum allocation requirements, if applicable). The 35% LETPA allocation can be from SHSP, UASI, or both, and may be met by funding projects in any combination of the six NPAs identified above and any other investments.

Application Process

Applying for an award under the HSGP is a multi-step process. Applicants are encouraged to register early as the registration process can take four weeks or more to complete. Registration should be done in sufficient time to ensure it does not impact your ability to meet the required submission deadline. Section D in the FY 2023 HSGP NOFO contains more detailed information and instructions.

Eligible applicants should submit their initial application at least three days before the May 18, 2023, application deadline through the Grants.gov portal at www.grants.gov. Applicants needing Grants.gov support should contact the Grants.gov customer support hotline at (800) 518-4726 24 hours per day, seven days per week except federal holidays.

Eligible applicants will be notified by FEMA within one to two business days and asked to proceed with submitting their complete application package in the Non-Disaster (ND) Grants System by the application deadline. Applicants needing technical support with the ND Grants System should contact ndgrants@fema.dhs.gov or (800) 865-4076, Monday - Friday from 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. Eastern Time (ET).

Completed applications must be submitted no later than 5 p.m. ET on May 18, 2023.

HSGP Resources

There are a variety of resources available to address programmatic, technical, and financial questions, which can assist with HSGP applications:

Tags: