Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act Program

Assistance Listing: 16.070

U.S. Department of Justice

Jul 30, 2026

COPS Office Response Center:
800.421.307.6770
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Grants.gov contact center:
800.518.4726
support@grants.gov
Self-service knowledge base

OVW JustGrants support:
866.655.4482
OVW.JustGrantsSupport@usdoj.gov

System for award management (SAM):
866.606.8220
Federal service desk

The Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act (LEMHWA) Program offers funding for state, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement agencies to implement new or enhance existing programs that offer training and services to support officers' emotional and mental health, including counseling programs, peer mentoring, suicide prevention, stress reduction, and police officer family services. The program intends to increase grant funding accessibility for small and understaffed departments, especially those in rural communities, to implement mental health and wellness programs.

Applications should address the following objectives:

• How the proposed project will enhance or expand your current wellness activities/program
• How the proposed program activities will support wellness in the agency or agencies served
• The intended service area and size of the program
• Expected outcomes of the program activities
• Plans for how the program will be implemented
• Privacy protections that will be put in place for anyone using the support services

Award Types:

• Category 1 - Start-Up LEMHWA Implementation Projects
• Category 2 - Enhanced LEMHWA Implementation Projects
• Category 3 - LEMHWA Community of Practice Initiative

Eligible applicants for Category 1 and Category 2 projects include:

• State governments
• County governments
• City or township governments
• Special district governments
• Other units of local government
• Native American tribal governments (federally recognized)
• Native American tribal governments (other than federally recognized)

Eligible applicants for Category 3 projects include:

• For-profit (commercial) organizations
• Nonprofit organizations with and without 501(c)(3) status with the IRS
• Institutions of higher education
• Community groups
• Faith-based organizations

Nationwide

Category 1 - Start-Up LEMHWA Implementation:

• Award amount: $250,000
• Project period: 2 years
• Estimated number of awards: 18

Category 2 - Enhanced LEMHWA Implementation:

• Award amount: $250,000
• Project period: 2 years
• Estimated number of awards: 18

Category 3 - LEMHWA Community of Practice Initiative:

• Award amount: $250,000
• Project period: 2 years
• Estimated number of awards: 1

Estimated total program funding: $9,000,000

Links to the full announcement, application instructions, and the online application process are available through grants.gov.

Applications are submitted through a two-step process with the SF-424 due in grants.gov on July 30, 2026 and the full application, including attachments, in the Justice Grants System (JustGrants) is due on August 5, 2026.

Applicant technical assistance page

Behavioral health · Criminal justice system · Families · Human services · Mental health · Suicide and suicide prevention · Wellness, health promotion, and disease prevention