2009 CNMI Juvenile Accountability Block Grant

The Juvenile Accountability Block Grant Program (JABG) Program is authorized under the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 376ee). The goal of the JABG program is to reduce juvenile offending through accountability-based programs focused on both the juvenile offender and the juvenile justice system. The objective is to ensure that States and Territories are addressing the specified program purpose areas and receiving information on best practices from OJJDP. JABG funds are allocated to States and Territories based on each State's relative population of youth under the age of 18. The underlying premise of juvenile accountability programming is that young people who violate the law should be held accountable for their actions through the swift, consistent application of graduated sanctions that are proportionate to the offense, both as a matter of basic justice and as a way to combat juvenile delinquency, and improve the quality of life in the nation's communities.

The CNMI will use JABG funds to support the following purpose areas: (2) building, expanding, renovating, or operating temporary or permanent juvenile correction, detention, or community corrections facilities; (3) hiring juvenile court judges, probation officers, and court-appointed defenders and special advocates, and funding pretrial services (including mental health screening and assessment) for juvenile offenders to promote the effective and expeditious administration of the juvenile justice system; (5) providing funding to enable prosecutors to address drug, gang, and youth violence problems more effectively and for technology, equipment, and training to help prosecutors identify and expedite the prosecution of violent juvenile offenders.

NCA/NCF