Federal Grants

Title II of the JJDP Act requires the deinstitutionalization of status offenders and separation of juvenile and adult offenders in institutional settings. The act was amended to require the removal of juveniles from adult jails and lockups and to include provisions requiring states to study and address disproportionate minority confinement. Each of these areas is now a core requirement of the act. Currently, Kentucky is using Title II funds in the following areas: Alternatives to Detention; Disproportionate Minority Confinement; and Systems Improvement. Programs have included parent accountability, short-term in-home crisis counseling, emergency shelter care, home detention services, tracking services, after-school programs, mentoring and community service.

Title V of the JJDP Act was created by Congress to provide funds specifically for local primary delinquency prevention and early intervention efforts. The funding is allocated to states based on each state's comparative population. Recipients of these funds are local units of government. Each recipient must develop a three-year delinquency prevention strategy that includes a thorough analysis of 19 risk factors that exist in the community and a plan to address those risk factors. Communities must establish a Prevention Policy Board to oversee the analysis and plan. In addition, communities must be in compliance with the core requirements of the JJDP Act to be eligible for funding. Examples of eligible activities include truancy reduction efforts, after school programs, development of employment skills, parent training, mentoring and substance abuse prevention programs.

The JABG program was created by Congress for the purpose of promoting greater accountability in the juvenile justice system. The program's goal is to reduce juvenile offending through accountability-based initiatives focused on both the offender and the juvenile justice system. Eligible program activities include: operation of juvenile correction and detention facilities; developing and implementing a system of graduated sanctions; judicial functions related to the juvenile offender; pre-trial services for juveniles; interagency information sharing programs; juvenile gun courts; juvenile drug courts; maintaining a system of juvenile records; school safety programs; establishing restorative justice programs; programs for assessment of risks and needs (mental health and substance abuse testing); and programs to enable juvenile courts and juvenile probation officers to be more effective.

The Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative Grant Program is designed to provide funding to the state and local units of government to develop and implement institutional institutional and community corrections-based offender reentry programs through collaborative partnerships with government, social services, faith-based and community organizations in order to reduce recidivism, increase public safety and successfully reintegrate offenders back into the community.

The department's initiative will provide a continuum of services to address the issues relating to reintegration and the ability to gain meaningful employment for the youth identified in the program. Upon placement in the community, these services will continue as the youth and family will need assistance through out the reintegration process. With this identified population being the most at risk to re-offend, it is recognized that the intensity of the program and services offered must match the intense needs of the youth and families. Agencies in partnership with DJJ include Jefferson County Drug Court, Northern Kentucky Area Development District, Seven Counties Services, Inc. and Transitions, Inc.