WASHINGTON –The Office of Justice Programs today announced awards of more than $212 million in grant funding to enhance state and local juvenile justice systems, provide gang prevention and intervention services, support mentoring and reentry services for youth and families, and help states comply with the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act.
OJP’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and Office for Victims of Crime awarded these grants to more than 150 states, local jurisdictions, research and academic institutions, and other public and private organizations across the United States.
“Contact with the juvenile justice system is a pivotal moment in a young person’s life, when a youth either takes a step toward personal responsibility or moves farther down the path of delinquency,” said OJJDP Administrator Caren Harp. “These awards will give justice system professionals and service providers the resources they need to hold kids appropriately accountable, reform their behavior, and help them begin a life free of crime and filled with promise.”
Of the more than $212 million awarded: about $83.1 million will fund mentoring programs and services for youth; $42.7 million will provide assistance to states’ juvenile justice systems and staffs; more than $38.3 million will fund juvenile and family drug courts and provide services to youth impacted by the opioid crisis; over $11.2 million will supplement reentry services for juveniles and parents of minors; nearly $10.7 million will bolster advocacy for abused and neglected children in child welfare systems and other legal proceedings; almost $7.4 million will support gang intervention, prevention and education efforts; $6.9 million will support juvenile justice research and data collection; approximately $3.4 million will support treatment and services for youth with sexual behavioral problems; $2.7 million will provide child abuse training for judicial personnel; nearly $1.8 million will support juvenile indigent defense; $1.5 million will fund training for juvenile prosecutors; $1.4 million will support American Indian and Alaska Native youth programs and services; $450,000 will fund training for juvenile corrections facility leadership; and $433,000 will support emergency planning activities for juvenile justice residential facilities.
For a complete list of individual grant programs, amounts to be awarded, and the jurisdictions that will receive funding, visit https://go.usa.gov/xpEP5.
Additional information about Fiscal Year 2019 grant awards made by the Office of Justice Programs can be found online at the OJP Awards Data webpage