Public Safety Academy Assistance Program
Dear Law Enforcement Agency Heads,
The Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards (MCOLES) has recently received funding from the legislature for six different grants for law enforcement agencies. The Commission’s staff is working diligently to make this funding available as soon as possible. Additional staff is being sought to assist in this process. Information on these grants is available here.
MCOLES will update as additional information becomes available on these grants.
To help address the critical need for additional law enforcement officers, our current staff prioritized the Public Safety Academy Assistance Program as the first of these grants to become available. Applications are now open for employed recruits who will be enrolled in an academy session on or after January 1, 2023.
This grant program is intended to help local law enforcement agencies screen, hire, and send an employed recruit to a basic law enforcement training academy. The grant will pay for up to $4,000.00 in recruit salary while attending the academy and for up to $20,000.00 in academy enrollment costs.
Program highlights include:
- $30,000,000.00 in total program funding.
- Agencies may receive up to 25 scholarships over the course of the program.
- Scholarships are on a first-come, first-served basis.
- The grant program will last until September 30, 2026, or until the appropriated funds are expended.
The Academy Assistance grant page includes application forms, eligibility guidelines, and information to aid agencies in this process.
After reviewing this information, if you have additional questions on the program and eligibility requirements, please contact msp-mcoles-grants@michigan.gov.
Also, please note the funding split of $4,000,00 for recruit salaries and $20,000.00 for academy costs in this grant is set by statute.
The Commission does not have the statutory authority to adjust those amounts to more accurately reflect the costs associated with an employed recruit. We know that, as written, it provides too much for academy costs. It would be ideal to repurpose those funds for recruiting salaries. We are involved in ongoing discussions with the legislature, the State Budget Office, and the Governor’s Executive Office to seek that change but have not been successful so far. We will keep you posted on any changes.
Even without that adjustment, this grant could provide valuable assistance in your efforts to employ recruits to become badly needed licensed law enforcement officers.
Kenneth E. Grabowski
Legislative Director, POAM
Related Read: Fall Update From POAM President Tignanelli
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