NCJ Number
188099
Date Published
July 2001
Length
2 pages
Annotation
This fact sheet provided a detailed overview of the federally funded Public Safety Officers’ Educational Assistance Program including program benefits, effective dates, and eligibility requirements.
Abstract
In 1998, the Federal Law Enforcement Dependents Assistance (FLEDA) Act was amended to provide educational assistance to spouses and children of police, fire, and emergency public safety officers killed in the line of duty creating the Public Safety Officers’ Educational Assistance (PSOEA) Program which incorporated officers permanently and totally disabled by catastrophic injuries sustained in the line-of-duty. The PSOEA Program is administered by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, U.S. Department of Justice and provides educational assistance allowance to eligible survivors. The PSOEA benefits can be used to defray educational expenses, including tuition, room and board, books, supplies, and education-related fees. Under the PSOEA Program, the families of Federal, State, and local police, fire, and emergency public safety officers are covered for line-of-duty deaths that occurred on or after January 1, 1978. The effective date for families of permanently and totally disabled Federal law enforcement officers was October 3, 1996 and coverage for State and local police, fire, and emergency public safety officers began on or after October 1, 1997. In addition, the PSOEA Program stipulates that PSOEA benefits were to be provided directly to dependents who attend a program of education at an eligible educational institution and are the spouses or children of Federal, police, fire, and emergency public safety officers who died or were permanently and totally disabled in the line-of-duty. References