Award Information
Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2013, $118,733)
The NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007, Pub. L. 110-180 ("NICS Improvement Act"), was signed into law by the President on January 8, 2008. The NICS Improvement Act amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993 ("the Brady Act") (Pub. L. 103-159), under which the Attorney General established the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). The Brady Act requires Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs) to contact the NICS before transferring a firearm to an unlicensed person for information on whether the proposed transferee is prohibited from receiving or possessing a firearm under state or federal law. The NICS Improvement Act authorizes grants to be made in a manner consistent with the National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP).
Under this award, the Texas Office of Court Administration (OCA) will increase the number of prohibiting protective order records made available to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) by conducting a systemic review and analysis of the protective order reporting process in Texas, from the filing of an application for a protective order or request for a magistrate's order of emergency protection to entry into Texas Crime Information Center, through case studies in rural, suburban, and urban jurisdictions.
Staff members funded through this award will develop and administer pre-interview surveys, then travel to local jurisdictions to interview participants involved in the protective order process.
A webinar training on improving protective order reporting will be offered to each jurisdiction.
In addition, a task force will be created to focus on strategic planning for the improvement of the quality and availability of prohibiting protective order records used by NICS.
CA/NCF