Deadline: 30-Jul-2026
The 2026 Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act Program provides funding to support mental health and wellness services for law enforcement officers and their families across the United States. The program is administered by the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services within the U.S. Department of Justice. Funding is available through three categories, with an estimated total of $9 million available and awards of up to $250,000.
Overview
The 2026 Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act Program supports mental health, emotional wellbeing, and wellness services for law enforcement officers and their families.
The program is administered by the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, known as the COPS Office, within the U.S. Department of Justice.
Through this opportunity, the Department of Justice aims to increase access to mental health and wellness services for state, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement agencies.
Key Focus Areas
The LEMHWA Program focuses on officer wellness, community policing, and mental health support.
Key focus areas include:
- Community policing
- Officer emotional health
- Officer mental health
- Counseling programs
- Peer mentoring
- Suicide prevention
- Stress reduction
- Police officer family services
- Wellness program implementation
- Training and support services
- New mental health initiatives
- Enhancement of existing wellness programs
- Peer support
- Technical assistance
- Community of practice activities
- Sharing promising practices
- Support for small, understaffed, and rural law enforcement departments
Purpose of the Program
The purpose of the LEMHWA Program is to help law enforcement agencies develop, expand, and improve mental health and wellness services.
The program recognizes that officers and their families may face stress, trauma, emotional strain, and occupational pressures connected to law enforcement work.
By funding counseling, peer support, suicide prevention, wellness training, and technical assistance, the program supports healthier officers, stronger agencies, and safer communities.
Administering Agency
The program is administered by the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services.
The COPS Office is part of the U.S. Department of Justice.
The program supports the broader goal of advancing community policing by strengthening the wellbeing and resilience of law enforcement personnel.
Total Funding Available
The estimated total funding available under this opportunity is $9 million.
Awards may be made up to $250,000.
The final award amount may depend on the funding category, applicant eligibility, proposed activities, and review process.
Funding Categories
The LEMHWA Program includes three funding categories.
Each category supports a different type of mental health and wellness activity.
Category 1: Start-Up Implementation Projects
Category 1 supports law enforcement agencies that do not already have established mental health and wellness programs.
This category helps agencies develop new services and programming for officers and their families.
Category 1 is especially relevant for:
- Small law enforcement departments
- Understaffed departments
- Rural departments
- Agencies with limited existing wellness services
- Agencies seeking to build comprehensive wellness programs
Supported activities may include the creation of new counseling, peer support, training, suicide prevention, stress reduction, and family support services.
Category 2: Enhanced Implementation Projects
Category 2 supports law enforcement agencies that already have mental health and wellness programs in place.
This category helps agencies expand, strengthen, or improve existing wellness efforts.
Funding under Category 2 is intended to enhance current initiatives rather than simply continue previously funded projects.
Suitable projects may include:
- Expanding existing wellness services
- Improving peer support programs
- Enhancing counseling access
- Strengthening officer family services
- Adding new training components
- Improving suicide prevention strategies
- Scaling stress reduction or resilience programs
Category 3: LEMHWA Community of Practice Initiative
Category 3 supports the LEMHWA Community of Practice Initiative.
This category focuses on peer support, technical assistance, and knowledge sharing for current and future LEMHWA grantees.
The initiative will support the development and facilitation of a forum where participants can:
- Exchange knowledge
- Learn from peers
- Share promising practices
- Receive technical assistance
- Discuss implementation challenges
- Improve mental health and wellness programming
Who is Eligible?
Eligibility depends on the funding category.
Categories 1 and 2 are limited to law enforcement agencies with primary law enforcement jurisdiction.
Category 3 is open to a broader range of organizations that can support peer learning, technical assistance, and community of practice activities.
Eligible Applicants for Categories 1 and 2
Categories 1 and 2 are open to:
- State law enforcement agencies
- Local law enforcement agencies
- Tribal law enforcement agencies
- Territorial law enforcement agencies
Applicants must have primary law enforcement jurisdiction.
These categories are intended for agencies directly developing or enhancing wellness services for officers and their families.
Eligible Applicants for Category 3
Category 3 is open to organizations that can support the Community of Practice Initiative.
Eligible applicants may include:
- For-profit organizations
- Nonprofit organizations
- Institutions of higher education
- Community groups
- Faith-based organizations
These applicants should be capable of providing technical assistance, peer support, coordination, facilitation, and knowledge-sharing support to LEMHWA grantees.
Additional Eligible Entity Types
Additional eligible entity types listed under the program include:
- State governments
- County governments
- City governments
- Township governments
- Special district governments
- Native American tribal governments
- Native American tribal organizations
- Public institutions of higher education
- Private institutions of higher education
- Small businesses
- Nonprofit organizations
Applicants should review the category-specific eligibility rules before applying.
What the Funding Can Support
The program can support activities that improve mental health and wellness for law enforcement officers and their families.
Supported activities may include:
- Counseling services
- Peer mentoring programs
- Peer support programs
- Suicide prevention initiatives
- Stress reduction activities
- Wellness program development
- Officer family support services
- Training for law enforcement personnel
- Technical assistance
- Development of new wellness programs
- Expansion of existing wellness programs
- Community of practice activities
- Sharing of promising practices
- Support for rural and small law enforcement agencies
Why It Matters
Law enforcement officers may experience high levels of stress, trauma exposure, emotional strain, and family pressures due to the nature of their work.
Mental health and wellness services can help officers cope with stress, reduce risk of crisis, strengthen resilience, and improve overall wellbeing.
Supporting officer wellness can also strengthen agency performance, improve community policing, and contribute to safer communities.
The LEMHWA Program is especially important for small, rural, and understaffed departments that may lack the resources to build comprehensive wellness services on their own.
How to Apply or Prepare a Strong Application
Applicants should prepare a clear and complete proposal that explains the need, target population, planned services, implementation approach, partnerships, budget, and expected outcomes.
Step 1: Choose the Correct Funding Category
Applicants should first determine which category fits their project.
They should choose:
- Category 1 if the agency is starting a new mental health and wellness program.
- Category 2 if the agency already has a wellness program and wants to expand or improve it.
- Category 3 if the applicant will support the Community of Practice Initiative through technical assistance, peer learning, and knowledge sharing.
Step 2: Confirm Eligibility
Applicants should confirm that they meet the eligibility rules for the selected category.
Law enforcement agencies applying under Categories 1 and 2 must have primary law enforcement jurisdiction.
Organizations applying under Category 3 should demonstrate the capacity to support peer learning, training, technical assistance, and community of practice activities.
Step 3: Define the Mental Health and Wellness Need
The application should clearly explain the problem or gap the project will address.
This may include:
- Limited access to counseling
- Lack of peer support services
- Need for suicide prevention training
- Stress and trauma-related challenges
- Limited support for officer families
- Lack of structured wellness programming
- Need for services in small, understaffed, or rural agencies
Step 4: Describe the Proposed Activities
Applicants should explain what the project will do.
The project description should include:
- Services to be developed or enhanced
- Target participants
- Implementation timeline
- Staffing and partnerships
- Training activities
- Peer support or counseling approach
- Family support components
- Technical assistance needs or delivery plan
Step 5: Show How the Project Advances Community Policing
Applicants should explain how officer wellness supports community policing.
This may include improved officer wellbeing, stronger community relationships, better service delivery, increased resilience, and healthier agency culture.
Step 6: Prepare a Realistic Budget
Applicants should prepare a clear budget aligned with the project activities.
The budget should show:
- Requested funding amount
- Eligible project costs
- Staffing or consultant costs
- Training costs
- Program implementation costs
- Technical assistance or facilitation costs
- Costs directly linked to officer wellness outcomes
Step 7: Define Expected Outcomes
The application should explain how success will be measured.
Expected outcomes may include:
- Increased access to counseling
- Improved peer support capacity
- More officers receiving wellness training
- Stronger suicide prevention response
- Reduced stigma around mental health
- Better support for officer families
- Improved agency wellness culture
- Stronger knowledge sharing among grantees
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Applicants should avoid the following mistakes:
- Selecting the wrong funding category
- Applying under Categories 1 or 2 without primary law enforcement jurisdiction
- Proposing activities that are not connected to officer mental health or wellness
- Submitting a vague wellness plan
- Not explaining how officers and families will benefit
- Failing to show need for services
- Not distinguishing enhancement from continuation in Category 2
- Ignoring the needs of small, understaffed, or rural agencies where relevant
- Providing an unclear budget
- Not explaining implementation capacity
- Not including measurable outcomes
- Applying under Category 3 without a clear technical assistance or peer learning approach
Tips for a Strong Application
A strong application should be practical, wellness-focused, and clearly linked to law enforcement needs.
Useful tips include:
- Clearly describe the mental health and wellness challenges facing the agency or target group.
- Choose the correct category and align all activities with that category.
- Explain how the project will increase access to services.
- Include counseling, peer support, suicide prevention, stress reduction, or family services where relevant.
- Show how the project supports community policing.
- For Category 1, explain how the agency will build a new wellness program.
- For Category 2, explain how the project will enhance existing services.
- For Category 3, explain how peer learning and technical assistance will be delivered.
- Include measurable outcomes and realistic timelines.
- Keep the budget clear, justified, and directly connected to project goals.
FAQ
1. What is the 2026 LEMHWA Program?
The 2026 Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act Program provides funding to support and expand mental health and wellness services for law enforcement officers and their families.
2. Who administers the program?
The program is administered by the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services within the U.S. Department of Justice.
3. How much funding is available?
The estimated total funding available is $9 million, with awards of up to $250,000.
4. What are the funding categories?
The program includes three categories: start-up implementation projects, enhanced implementation projects, and the LEMHWA Community of Practice Initiative.
5. Who can apply under Categories 1 and 2?
Categories 1 and 2 are limited to state, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement agencies with primary law enforcement jurisdiction.
6. Who can apply under Category 3?
Category 3 is open to for-profit organizations, nonprofit organizations, institutions of higher education, community groups, and faith-based organizations.
7. What types of activities are supported?
Supported activities may include counseling, peer mentoring, peer support, suicide prevention, stress reduction, officer family services, wellness program development, training, technical assistance, and sharing of promising practices.
Conclusion
The 2026 Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act Program provides important federal support to improve mental health and wellness services for law enforcement officers and their families.
With an estimated $9 million available and awards of up to $250,000, the program supports new wellness programs, enhancement of existing initiatives, and a national community of practice for peer learning and technical assistance. Strong applications should clearly identify the right funding category, demonstrate need, explain planned services, show implementation capacity, and present measurable outcomes for officer wellbeing and community policing.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
