2010 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 offenses, 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 State of South Carolina will utilize JABG funds to increase alternatives to secure detention. To this end, the State will support projects that focus on the following JABG program areas: Graduated Sanctions (#1), Court Staffing and Pre-Trial Services (#3), Risk and Needs Assessments (#12), Training for Detention and Corrections Personnel (#16), and Re-entry (#17). Subgrantee activities will include increasing alternatives to secure detention by increasing the effectiveness of court-appointed counsel and improving alternative options for State solicitor's offices. Additionally, the State will support local programs that work for or with law enforcement to find alternative placements for youth who would otherwise be placed in secure detention. Progress toward these objectives will be measured using the federal performance measures, which include the number and type of graduated sanctions, the recidivism rate, a reduction in the use of secure detention for nonviolent youth, and the number of youth completing the sanctioned programs.
(NCA/NCF)