Rhode Island Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention Title II Formula Grant

Rhode Island’s primary focus for the Title II Formula Grants Program 2021-2023 Three Year Plan will continue to be the improvement of the Rhode Island juvenile justice systems ability to respond to juvenile offending behaviors quickly and effectively.  Rhode Island plans to maintain compliance with the core protections afforded youth under the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act.  This plan describes the juvenile justice system structure in Rhode Island and identifies crime and delinquency statistics over the past few years.  This data has been reviewed in order to assist in the development of funding priorities. 

This plan attempts to move towards a developmental approach to juvenile justice in developing alternatives to justice system involvement and incarceration through the use of specialty court programs and juvenile hearing boards.  These various efforts attempt to narrow the entry to the juvenile justice system.  The Rhode Island Family Court is an essential element in Rhode Island’s plan with the Specialty Courts including the Juvenile Drug Court, Family Treatment Drug Court, Truancy Court, and Mental Health Clinic providing targeted services to specific areas of need. 

As in previous years, compliance with the Core Requirements continues to be a primary focus.  Additionally, Rhode Island’s JDAI/Annie E. Casey Foundation project has been partnering with our RED initiative with specialized subcommittees and projects with goals and accomplishments in line with reducing racial and ethnic disparities and creating cultural competency in the juvenile justice system. 

With the substantial reduction in federal grant program dollars over past years, some of the elements of past plans have had to be adjusted to accommodate declining funding.  No Title II funds will be used to conduct research.  The populations to be served include at-risk youth statewide between the ages of 7 to 17 years.  With no county system of government in Rhode Island, all programming must encompass and take into account the various cities and towns with all of their unique demographics.  The State of Rhode Island bears the primary responsibility for all juvenile justice related activities.  As in past years, Rhode Island’s request for waiver of the pass-through amount will allow the JJDPA funds to have the most impact, remaining at the state level.