FY 2011 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. 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.

The Utah Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice (CCJJ) is the designated State agency for administering JABG funds. The CCJJ will retain 100% of its FY 2011 JABG funding at the State level. The State is committed to using funds to support new and ongoing projects of the Utah Juvenile Court and Division of Juvenile Justice Services in the program areas of: graduated sanctions, juvenile records, training programs for court staff and juvenile programs improvement. Specifically, projects will include: 1) providing community placements as an alternative to incarceration for approximately 3,750 youth days of care; 2) probation officer safety training and juvenile court management training for more than 370 staff members; 3) continuous program evaluation improvement, promoting evidence based practices to ensure that juvenile court programming is meeting the needs of the participating youth; 4) enhance the Court's Statewide juvenile information system, CARE, to include gang data and produce reports that monitor outcomes for high-risk offenders, thus enhancing public safety; 5) support Utah's participation in the Interstate Compact for Juveniles to facilitate the movement of youth amongst States for their supervision and return runaway youth to their home states; and 6) train supervisors on effective Evidence-based program strategies and methods of continuous quality program improvement. Selected districts will also be trained on the use of the Carey Guides, a 15-minute brief intervention used by probation officers to address a youth's criminogenic needs.

NCA/NCF