Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
Grant Programs

Virginia participates in three grant programs under the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (JJDP) Act: Title II Formula Grants, Title V Prevention Grants, and Challenge Grants. In addition, it offers One Time Special Fund Grants using unexpended Title II and Title V funds. These one-time grants have a brief three-month grant period of July 1 through September 30. The Innovative Law Enforcement Community Oriented Policing (ILECOP) supplement was not re-appropriated. Programs funded through ILECOP in previous years were continued with OJJDP Title II funds. During FY 1999, DCJS was awarded a special one-time accountability-based sanction (ABS) supplement from OJJDP in addition to the Title II base in the allocation amount. The ABS funds were used to assist localities in planning graduated sanction accountability-based services.

The JJDP Advisory Committee reviews and comments on each of the Title II and Title V grant applications. It makes funding recommendations to the Criminal Justice Services Board which has final authority to award these grant funds.

Title II Formula Grants

Title II funds are allocated to states based on their youth population under aged 18. These funds must be first awarded to programs geared towards achieving compliance with the four core requirements of the Act: deinstitutionalization of status offenders, sight and sound separation of juvenile and adult offenders, removal of juveniles from adult jails and lockups, and reduction of minority overrepresentation in the juvenile justice system. If compliance is met, monies can fund other juvenile justice and delinquency prevention programs and services. For the 1999 fiscal year, additional priorities for new Title II funding were post-dispositional programs for adjudicated children in need of services (CHINS), status offenders, and underserved delinquents.

Title II funds are awarded to local units of government or state agencies. Virginia’s share of Title II funds in fiscal year 1999¹ was $2,058,000. In FY 1999, funds were awarded to 43 programs. Of those 43, 19 were new programs. Programs already receiving Title II monies can apply for continued funding for up to four additional years as Continuation Grants. Of the 27 applications for continuation funding, 24 were approved. The Advisory Committee requires a clear description of program accomplishments and evaluation data on which to assess the merits of continued funding. After two years, community participation in funding is encouraged. Thus, in years 3 through 5 of the grant, federal funding decreases to 75% for 3^rd year grants, 50% for 4^th year grants, and 25% for 5^th year grants. This stipulation is made to encourage successful programs to become self-sufficient. The table below provides information about each of the funded projects.

The JJDP Advisory Committee awarded One-Time Special Fund grants to 4 state agencies and 32 localities under Title II. Priorities are as for Title II grants. All awarded grants were $5,000 or less.

Click here to view Table 1 - Title II Formula Grants Awarded Fiscal Year 1999.

Title V Prevention Grants

In 1992, the U. S. Congress added Title V priorities and funds to the JJDP Act. Title V provides a source of funds for states to award grants to communities for delinquency prevention and early intervention programs. Grantees must be in compliance with the four core requirements of the JJDP Act, must have an approved comprehensive delinquency prevention plan, and must provide a match, either cash or in-kind, of at least 50% of the federal dollars awarded. Title V funding was first available in Virginia in 1995. Programs already receiving Title V monies can apply for continued funding for up to two additional years as Continuation Grants. As is true for the Title II program, the JJDP Advisory Committee requires a clear description of program accomplishments and evaluation data on which to assess the merits of continued funding.

Virginia was awarded $432,000 in Title V Federal funds for fiscal year 1999. Two localities received first year grant funding; six localities received second-year funding. The table below provides information about each of the funded projects.

The JJDP Advisory Committee awarded One Time Special Fund grants to six localities under Title V. Grants were limited to $5,000 maximum award. Grants were given primarily for equipment purchases or other resources to enhance existing programs. The requests for these Title V funds must comply with the standard requirements for participation in the Title V program stated above. Selection priority for Title V one-time special fund grants was the same as for the regular Title V grants.

Click here to view Table 2 - Title V Discretionary Grants Awarded Fiscal Year 1999.

Challenge Grants

The purpose of State Challenge grants² is to provide initiatives for states participating in the Formula Grants Programs to develop, adopt, and improve policies and programs in any of ten specified Challenge areas. Virginia has focused on three of those Challenge areas: mental health needs of youth in the juvenile justice system, community-based alternatives to incarceration, and conditions of confinement. Virginia’s allocation for FY 1999 under the Challenge Grant program was $210,000.

Most achievements under the Challenge Grant program during FY 1999 were in the area of the mental health needs of youth in the juvenile justice system. Special attention was focused on training professionals to implement the new juvenile competency legislation.

For some years, Virginia has been in the forefront nationally in examining the mental health needs of youth in the juvenile justice system. In 1993, Virginia was selected as one of five states to participate in the first Mental Health in the Juvenile Justice System Policy Design Academy. Since then, Virginia has conducted research that identifies clearly the extent to which mental health populations in detention have mental health problems. A Challenge Grant, begun in 1995 to the University of Virginia Institute for Law, Psychiatry, and Public Policy, provides for policy development, research, training, and dissemination of information related to the improvement of mental health, special education, and substance abuse services for juvenile offenders. Specific activities include the following.

Policy Development. Through the work of the challenge grant, a Manual for the Juvenile Basic Forensic Evaluation Training was developed. The handbook contains information about current issues in evaluation of juveniles before the court, including evaluation of juveniles for competency to stand trail. This material and the staff of the Institute served as a resource to the Virginia Commission on Youth’s study of juvenile competency. Legislation related to juvenile competency became law 1 July 1999.

Research. Researchers from the University of Virginia assisted the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice with the compilation of the Client Profile Database. The Client Profile Database contains information collected from a multi-disciplinary assessment of each youth admitted to juvenile correctional facilities between July 1, 1992 and June 30, 1997. In addition, the Institute conducted a statewide need assessment on the systemic, legal and service delivery barriers to mental health services for juvenile offenders.

Training. A two-day interdisciplinary training conference on Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice Reform brought together leading state and national experts on juvenile delinquency from the fields of law, psychology and criminology, as well as practitioners, judges and advocates. The program included presentations and discussions on adolescent violence, the adjudication of youthful offenders, treatment of juvenile offenders, and social programs for reducing juvenile crime and adolescent homicide. In addition, the Institute offered a series of training workshops on juvenile assessment.

Dissemination. A mailing list of 700 juvenile justice professionals received seven fact sheets on various topics related to mental health and juvenile justice. The fact sheets, and others, are accessible through the web site of the University of Virginia Juvenile Forensic Evaluation Resource Center, http://ilppp.virginia.edu/training-symposia/juvenile-programs.html

Notes

¹ In Virginia, the 1999 fiscal year is July 1, 1998 to June 30, 1999.

² The 1992 reauthorization of the JJDP Act of 1974 added Part E, State Challenge Activities, to the programs funded by OJJDP.

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