What Changed

On August 25, 2026, the Bureau of Justice Assistance posted the FY2026 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program local solicitation and updated its local allocation tables. JAG is a flexible federal formula grant for state and local criminal justice agencies.

This year's cycle opens under a new federal law. The Improving Police Critical Aid for Responding to Emergencies (CARE) Act became law as part of the National Defense Authorization Act, as Police1 reported in January. It requires BJA to develop and publish performance standards for trauma kits that can be bought with JAG funds. It also requires best practices for how agencies use, deploy, and maintain those kits.

The Numbers

From the BJA solicitation:

  • Funding available: up to $96,518,469 for the local solicitation.
  • Anticipated awards: 1,190.
  • Deadlines: SF-424 in Grants.gov by October 9, 2026, 11:59 p.m. ET. Full application in JustGrants by October 16, 2026, 8:59 p.m. ET.
  • Award length: 24 months for awards under $25,000, and 48 months for awards of $25,000 or more.
  • Allowable uses: BJA describes JAG as able to "support hiring additional personnel and/or purchase equipment, supplies, contractual support, training, technical assistance, and information systems." Training is an allowable cost.
  • Body armor: agencies that buy armor with JAG funds must submit a Body Armor Mandatory Wear Certification.

From the CARE Act (Senate-passed text, S. 1595): an eligible trauma kit must include a tourniquet recommended by the Committee on Tactical Combat Casualty Care, a bleeding control bandage, nonlatex gloves with a marker, blunt-ended scissors, instructional material from recognized sources such as Stop the Bleed or the American College of Surgeons, and a storage container. BJA was given 180 days after enactment to publish the standards. It was also directed to publish optional best practices on "training officers" in kit use, deployment in vehicles, and maintenance. The final NDAA wording may differ slightly from the Senate text. We did not find the new trauma-kit standards referenced in the solicitation materials we reviewed. Confirm with your BJA grant manager before you buy.

At least some agencies are already putting this money toward medical gear. The Harford County (Md.) Sheriff's Office posted notice that it is seeking $35,604 in FY2026 local JAG funds for Individual First Aid Kits for its uniformed personnel.

Why It Matters Operationally

A trauma kit on every officer is good policy. Officers often reach a wounded person, or become one, before EMS can safely get there. Setting standards for kits bought with grant money is a sensible, bipartisan fix. The CARE Act drew support from the IACP, FOP, NAPO, FLEOA, and the American College of Surgeons.

A kit is not a capability, though. A tourniquet that an officer has never applied under stress, to himself, one-handed, or to a partner in a stairwell, is a hope. The CARE Act recognizes this by pairing kit standards with best practices on training. But those best practices are optional, and nothing in a kit purchase pays for the hours to build and keep the skill.

The Joint Trauma System's Tactical Combat Casualty Care Guidelines and Damage Control Resuscitation CPGs, together with the CoTCCC's May 2026 TCCC update, show that the value of early hemorrhage control depends on fast, correct application. For civilian law enforcement, the equivalent standard is TECC from the Committee for Tactical Emergency Casualty Care. Either way, speed and correctness are trained qualities. They do not come in the box.

ODM's Position

Position: If your agency is buying trauma kits with JAG money this cycle, budget for training alongside them. A checked box has never stopped a bleed.

Evidence: JAG explicitly allows training costs. Congress tied trauma-kit standards to training best practices in the same law. Military guidance built on combat data treats point-of-injury hemorrhage control as a skill to train, not a product to issue.

Strongest counterpoint: Local JAG allocations can be small. Harford County's request is $35,604. Training costs overtime and backfill, and those are recurring costs that a one-time grant does not cover well. A kit is a tangible, auditable purchase, and any kit is better than none. That is fair. A department choosing between kits and nothing should buy kits.

What good looks like: Kit purchases paired with hands-on initial training. Scenario refreshers at least annually, run in environments that look like the job: vehicles, hallways, stairs, low light. A replacement and inspection cycle. Medical director oversight. And a line in the operating budget, so the program survives the end of the grant. One-time grant money does not build a lasting program by itself. Leadership owns what happens after year one.

What Your Agency Should Do Now

  • Check your FY2026 local JAG allocation on BJA's allocations page, and note the October 9 and October 16 deadlines.
  • Confirm the current trauma-kit standards with BJA before listing kits in your budget narrative.
  • Split the budget: kits plus training hours, instructor costs, and training consumables. All are allowable JAG costs.
  • Specify tourniquets on the CoTCCC recommended list, which the CARE Act references.
  • Set a sustainment plan: inspection intervals, replacement of used or expired items, and annual skills verification.
  • Train in realistic settings: patrol cars, residential layouts, and self-aid with either hand, not only on a classroom mannequin.
  • Brief your council or county board that recurring medical training belongs in the operating budget, not only in grants.

Bottom Line

The CARE Act makes the kit standard. It does not make the officer ready. This JAG cycle is a chance to buy both, and the deadline is in October.

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