Department of Defense

MEDIA RELEASE 

#2022-008 September 16, 2022 

For Immediate Release 

Hawai‘i Office of Homeland Security awarded $423,000 grant for targeted violence and terrorism prevention 

Honolulu, Hawai‘i – Yesterday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the award of 43 grants, totaling $20 million, under the Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention (TVTP) Grant Program for Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22) and the State of Hawai‘i Office of Homeland Security (OHS), a division of the State Department of Defense, was awarded $423,000. 

In partnership with public, private, and higher education institutions, OHS will utilize this funding to develop and expand training programs for education officials focused on the prevention of targeted violence in our schools and in our communities. 

“We are pleased Hawai‘i will receive $423,000 to support the prevention of targeted violence in our communities. This generous investment from the Department of Homeland Security will be used to develop prevention and intervention programs, and to provide training and education focused on making our communities safer,” said Gov. David Y. Ige. 

The DHS FY22 grants will provide resources to local communities – including state, local, tribal, and territorial governments, nonprofits, and institutions of higher education to strengthen or enhance existing capabilities or establish them where they don’t exist. TVTP works to help prevent incidents of domestic violent extremism, as well as to bolster efforts to counter online radicalization and mobilization to violence. 

“The funding provided by DHS will allow OHS’s Hawai‘i State Fusion Center, through a “whole of community” approach, the ability to increase public awareness about targeted violence and to provide resources to assist public health, education, and law enforcement officials in their efforts to prevent acts of mass violence in Hawai‘i,” said Frank Pace, OHS Administrator. 

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With the support of federal partners such as the DHS Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships (CP3) and the United States Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center, the Hawai‘i Office of Homeland Security will coordinate efforts to expand Behavioral Threat Assessment Management Teams across the state. These teams will be comprised of state and county officials who will work collaboratively to identify those (individuals or groups) who may pose a threat to themselves or the community. Importantly, focusing on the prevention of harm, and providing assistance through public health and other social assistance resources. 

Launched in 2020, the TVTP grant program supports the efforts of 88 organizations working to prevent violence in 32 states with $50 million in awards. 

OHS is the state agency charged with preventing terrorism in Hawai‘i. OHS’s whole-of-community strategy to prevent targeted violence includes training on violent extremism; establishing, training, and operating behavioral threat assessment and management teams (TATM); and developing a prevention network that connects the TATM and traditional fusion center partners with community resources. 

Link to DHS announcement of awards: https://www.dhs.gov/tvtpgrants 

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Media Contact: 

MAJ (RET) Jeff Hickman 

Director, Public Affairs 

State of Hawaiʻi, Dept. of Defense 

808-441-7000//[email protected]