Parson Offers Funds For Improving Missouri Prisons

On December 1, 2022, Governor Mike Parson announced the availability of up to $10 million in grant funding for maintenance and improvements to jails across the state.

Governor’s Words

Governor Parson said,

Missouri’s county jails have a key role in our criminal justice system ^[1].

He added,

This $10 million grant opportunity is to provide support to county jails to ensure facilities are safe and secure for staff, inmates, and visitors. We urge Missouri sheriffs and county jail administrative agencies to consider applying for this funding before the application closes on December 30, 2022 ^[2].

Applications for the Missouri County Jail Maintenance and Improvements Grant are only being accepted through the Missouri Department of Public Safety online WebGrants System: https://dpsgrants.dps.mo.gov/index.do.

Details

The grant requires a local match of 50 percent. For example, if the total cost of a project were $100,000, the local recipient would be responsible for $50,000. Local American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds may be utilized for the local match. In-kind matches (soft match) must be directly related to the project and may be retroactive to March 2020. No supplanting is permitted.  

 Eligible grant expenditures include equipment, supplies, and contractual expenses to support county jail maintenance and improvements.

The Missouri Department of Public Safety will announce the grant recipients in March 2023. Grant funds must be expended by June 30, 2026. Missouri House Bill 3020 made the funding for jail maintenance and improvements grants available. The Missouri Department of Public Safety is the grant administrator.