Public safety officers' benefits and educational assistance programs. (Bulletin Reports).

The Public Safety Officers' Benefits (PSOB) program and the Public Safety Officers' Educational Assistance (PSOEA) program provide valuable benefits to the families of public safety officers whose deaths or permanent and total disabilities are the direct result of a traumatic injury sustained in the line of duty. The U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) manages both programs.

The PSOB program provides a one-time financial benefit to the eligible survivors of public safety officers. The program offers peace of mind to men and women seeking careers in public safety and makes a strong statement about the value American society places on the contributions of those who serve their communities in potentially dangerous circumstances.

Initially, the PSOB program provided benefits only to state and local law enforcement officers and firefighters. However, in 1984, it was expanded to include federal law enforcement officers and firefighters, and, since 1986, it has covered federal, state, and local public rescue squads and ambulance crews. PSOB program benefits are not subject to federal income tax, federal estate tax, or attachment by creditors. State and local benefits must not be reduced by benefits received under the PSOB Act, and the PSOB program benefit is not reduced by any benefit received at the state or local level.

The PSOEA program was established in 1998 to provide educational assistance to spouses and children of police, fire, and emergency public safety personnel killed or permanently and totally disabled in the line of duty. PSOEA program benefits may be used solely to defray educational expenses, including tuition, room and board, books, supplies, and education-related fees. Assistance under the PSOEA program is available for 45 months for full-time education or training or for a proportional period of time for a part-time program.

For additional information on these two programs, contact the Office of Benefits, Bureau of Justice Assistance, 810 Seventh Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20531, telephone [phone], fax [phone], e-mail: [e-mail]. To obtain a copy of the July 2001 programs' fact sheets, access the Bureau of Justice Assistance's Web site at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA.