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 South Carolina Department of Public Safety (DPS) is the Designated State Agency that administers OJJDP's JABG funds. The State of South Carolina is responsible for over 91% of juvenile services and has been approved by OJJDP for a waiver of the standard pass-through requirement to units of local government. The primary focus of the State's JABG program is to reduce secure detention through increased alternatives. Activities will fall within the following JABG purpose areas: #2 Corrections/Detention Facilities; #3 Court Staffing and Pre-Trial Services; #12 Risk and Needs Assessment; #16 Detention/Corrections Personnel; and #17 Re-entry. Specifically, planned activities will include: increasing the effectiveness of court-appointed counsel; improving alternative placement options for solicitors' offices; and supporting personnel at the local level who will identify alternative placements for youth are, or 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 non-violent youth, and the number of youth completing graduated sanctions programs.

NCA/NCF