SLED’s Office of Homeland Security (OHS) is currently the designated State Administrative Agency (SAA) for South Carolina. The SAA is the only entity eligible to submit the applications for certain federal grants, which means that applications for that funding from organizations in the state must go through this office. The SAA also serves as the point of contact with DHS on grant-related issues while administering and managing grant funds for participating organizations. For more information, visit the SLED Office of Homeland Security grants page.
SC CIC works closely with the OHS to secure grant funding for the state and to leverage limited grant resources to address problems for the widest possible critical infrastructure audience.
State & Local Cybersecurity Grant Program (SLCGP)
In September 2022, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a cybersecurity grant program targeting State, Local, Tribal and Territorial (SLTT) governments in the United States. Funding from the SLCGP and the Tribal Cybersecurity Grant Program (TCGP) helps eligible entities address cybersecurity risks and threats to information systems owned or operated by, or on behalf of, SLTT governments.
The SLCGP contains three key requirements:
- Assessments and Evaluations Requirement
- Applicant must conduct assessments and evaluations that provide a basis for individual projects throughout the life of the program. This requirement helps eligible entities understand their current cybersecurity posture and areas for improvement.
- Cybersecurity Best Practices Requirement
- Projects must be aligned with CISA’s recommendations for critical infrastructure organizations to implement more advanced and robust cybersecurity best practices.
- Cybersecurity Plan Requirement
- Applicant must create a statewide cybersecurity planning document approved by the established Cybersecurity Planning Committee and the state CIO/CISO or equivalent.
SC CIC spearheaded the SLCGP for the state of South Carolina, leveraging its existing network of trust built with critical infrastructure organizations across the state to create a robust and diverse Cybersecurity Planning Committee, which then co-authored the South Carolina Statewide Cybersecurity Plan. This effort is continuous and iterative to adapt to new threats and challenges as they are identified. Please visit the official grant links below for more information on the SLCGP.
State Homeland Security Program (SHSP) (South Carolina)
The State Homeland Security Program (SHSP) is a core assistance program that provides funds to build capabilities at the State, local, tribal, and territorial levels, to enhance our national resilience to absorb disruptions and rapidly recover from incidents both natural and manmade as well as to implement the goals and objectives included in State homeland security strategies and initiatives in their State Preparedness Report (SPR).
Activities implemented under SHSP must support terrorism preparedness by building or enhancing capabilities that relate to the prevention of, protection from, mitigation of, response to, and recovery from terrorism in order to be considered eligible. However, many capabilities that support terrorism preparedness simultaneously support preparedness for other hazards. Grantees must demonstrate this dual-use quality for any activities implemented under this program that are not explicitly focused on terrorism preparedness.
In developing applications for SHSP, recipients are encouraged to consider 2024 priority areas:
- Enhancing the protection of soft targets/crowded places
- Enhancing information and intelligence sharing and analysis
- Combating domestic violent extremism
- Enhancing cybersecurity
- Enhancing community preparedness and resilience
- Enhancing election security
Obtaining Grant Application Forms:
To obtain grant application forms for the Homeland Security Grant Program (HSGP), the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program (SLCGP) or the Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP), please contact Bob Connell at rconnell@sled.sc.gov.