State of Alabama's FY2011 Juvenile Accountability Block Grant (JABG) Program

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. 3796ee). 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 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.

Alabama's JABG funds will be subgranted to State agencies and local governments to implement Purpose Area 10 - Establishing and maintaining interagency information sharing programs that enable the juvenile and criminal justice systems, schools, and social services agencies to make more informed decisions regarding the early identification, control, supervision, and treatment of juveniles who repeatedly commit serious delinquent or criminal acts; Purpose Area 9 - Establishing and maintaining a system of juvenile records designed to promote public safety; Purpose Area 15 - Establishing and maintaining programs to enable juvenile courts and juvenile probation officers to be more effective and efficient in holding juvenile offenders accountable and reducing recidivism; Purpose Area 1 - Developing, implementing, and administering graduated sanctions for juvenile offenders; and Purpose Area 11 - Establishing and maintaining accountability-based programs designed to reduce recidivism among juveniles, who are referred by law enforcement personnel or agencies.
Alabama has requested an 85% waiver allowing those funds to be expended on State-level programs, with a portion expended on local-level programs. Activities focused on achieving JABG goals and objectives include continuing the State court system's improvement of the technology system and refinement of the recordkeeping and data collection processes used by juvenile courts, providing accountability-based treatment programs for youth held in secure confinement, and providing graduated sanctions for court-involved youth at the local level. The goals and objectives focus on addressing the need for (i) improving technology to assist agencies with collecting and housing real-time data on court-involved youth, and training agency personnel on the use of new technology, and (ii) adjudicating youth involved in criminal activity, including juvenile sex offenders, at the local level, providing sentencing and treatment alternatives within local communities and in secure facilities, and monitoring their treatment for compliance with court-ordered sanctions. Program progress will be measured according to OJJDP's JABG performance measures, outputs, and outcomes, as defined for Purpose Areas 10, 9, 15, 1, and 11. NCA/NCF