FY25 Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act (LEMHWA) Invitational | O COPS 2025 172410

Opportunity Information: Apply for O COPS 2025 172410

The FY25 Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act (LEMHWA) Invitational is a discretionary federal funding opportunity from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office). It supports efforts to improve law enforcement mental health and wellness by expanding both access to services and the quality of those services. The program is designed to help agencies and partner organizations put practical wellness supports in place, with an emphasis on approaches that have shown promise in real-world settings.

Funding under LEMHWA is aimed at wellness programs that can meaningfully strengthen officer well-being and resilience. The opportunity specifically highlights activities such as implementing or enhancing peer support programs, delivering training related to mental health and wellness, providing resources that include and support families, building or improving suicide prevention efforts, and adopting other evidence-informed or promising wellness practices. While the focus is on mental health and wellness services for law enforcement, the intent is broader than just clinical care; it includes organizational supports, prevention strategies, and culturally competent resources that match the realities of police work.

This is an invitational competition, meaning it is not open to the general public. Only applicants that have received a direct invitation from the COPS Office are eligible to apply. The listing shows the eligible applicant category as "Others," which typically signals that the invited entity may not be limited to a single traditional government category, but the key qualifier is still the invitation requirement.

The award will be made as a cooperative agreement, which generally indicates more federal involvement than a standard grant. In cooperative agreements, the awarding agency often has substantial programmatic engagement, such as collaborating on project design elements, monitoring implementation milestones, or providing technical direction consistent with the award terms. Applicants should be prepared for active coordination with the COPS Office during the period of performance.

The COPS Office allows collaborative projects where two or more entities carry out the work, but only one organization can serve as the official applicant. That lead applicant is responsible for the full project, including financial administration, day-to-day management, performance reporting, and ensuring compliance for all parties involved. If partners will carry out part of the federally funded work, they must be named as subrecipients in the application, and the award conditions apply to them as well. The notice also stresses the importance of correctly classifying relationships: a subaward is used when another entity is carrying out a portion of the programmatic work (financial assistance relationship), while a contract is for purchasing goods or services needed for the project (procurement relationship). Applicants are directed to 2 C.F.R. 200.331 for guidance on making that determination.

The announcement also notes that awards will align with current Executive Orders and Attorney General memoranda connected to broader public safety priorities, described as reestablishing law and order. The notice lists examples of these priorities, including hiring and retention of sworn officers, collaboration with federal task forces, addressing open drug use and fentanyl distribution, crime prevention, nuisance abatement, countering human trafficking and child smuggling, and enhanced immigration enforcement and border security. While LEMHWA is a wellness-focused program, applicants should expect that the federal government will view funded projects in the context of these overarching priorities and may impose additional requirements consistent with evolving policy and legal conditions. As with most federal opportunities, awards are also explicitly subject to the availability of appropriated funds and any new legal or policy modifications.

The opportunity frames its approach within the COPS Office philosophy of community policing, noting that the materials may use "community policing" and "common sense policing" interchangeably unless stated otherwise. Practically, this signals that wellness activities are expected to support effective, trust-building policing by strengthening the workforce and improving organizational health, which can influence service quality, decision-making under stress, and long-term retention.

Key details from the notice include the funding opportunity number O-COPS-2025-172410, CFDA (Assistance Listing) 16.070, and an original application closing date of June 24, 2025. The expected number of awards is 1, with an award ceiling of $150,000.

• The Community Oriented Policing Services in the law, justice and legal services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY25 Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act (LEMHWA) Invitational" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.070.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2025-05-16.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-06-24. (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 O COPS 2025 172410

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