Law Enforcement Legislative Updates MCOLES Academy Assistance Program

POAM is reposting this information from Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards (MCOLES) — MCOLES has received funding for grants to law enforcement agencies for basic law enforcement training academy scholarships and salaries for employed recruits.

Program highlights include

• $30,000,000.00 in total program funding.
  • Up to $20,000.00 per recruit for academy costs.
  • Up to $4,000.00 per recruit for salaries while attending an academy.
• Funding is available until September 30, 2026, or until the funds are exhausted, whichever comes first.
• Agencies may receive up to 25 scholarships over the course of the program.
• Scholarships are on a first-come, first-served basis.

Applying for Funds

An eligible law enforcement agency and academy must complete the below process to be considered for this grant:

Agency

1. Complete the standards screening and Candidate New Hire process in MITN. If your agency needs help with the MITN New Hire transaction process, please view the Hiring Employed Recruits Guidance. Please review the Hiring Employed Recruits Guidance before calling or emailing the MITN Help Desk.
2. Complete the agency portion of the MCOLES Public Safety Academy Assistance Program application.
3. Forward the MCOLES Public Safety Academy Assistance Program application and Candidate New Hire documentation to the intended training program no later than 10 days before the start of the academy session.

Academy

1. Enroll the recruit in the academy session.
2. Complete the academy section of the MCOLES Public Safety Academy Assistance Program application.
3. Forward the MCOLES Public Safety Academy Assistance Program application and New Hire Candidate documentation to MCOLES at MSP-MCOLES-Grants@michigan.gov.

Only when all materials have been received by MCOLES will the application be considered active. At this point the application will be placed in the queue while funding is available.

Distribution of Funds

Upon scholarship application approval by MCOLES, the employing agency will be provided with the $4,000.00 stipend for the employed recruit’s salary. If the recruit withdraws from the academy session or resigns from the agency prior to the full $4,000.00, the balance shall be returned to MCOLES and applied back to the scholarship fund.

Also following application approval by MCOLES, the basic law enforcement training program will invoice MCOLES directly for the eligible expenses related to the recruit’s academy session. If the recruit withdraws from the academy session or resigns from the agency within the time period allowed for full or partial refund from the academy, that refund shall be returned to MCOLES and applied back to the scholarship fund.

Agencies would not also receive Training to Locals (TTL) reimbursements for employed recruits funded through this program. Recruits in excess of the 25 maximum scholarships per agency or those not funded by this program will remain eligible for TTL reimbursements to the agency.