Prevent Juvenile crime

The Justice Department's grant-making components have created a streamlined approach for federally recognized Tribes, Tribal consortia, Alaska Native villages and corporations, as well as authorized tribal designees to apply for Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 funding opportunities. The Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation (CTAS) serves as a single solicitation for existing tribal government-specific grant programs administered by the Office of Justice Programs (OJP), the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) and the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW). The CTAS solicitation is designed to assist tribes with addressing crime and public safety issues in a comprehensive manner. The CTAS grant-application process was inspired by and developed after consultation with tribal leaders, including sessions at the Justice Department's Tribal Nations Listening Session in 2009, and has been updated based on continued tribal consultations and listening sessions.

The Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Court is proposing a voluntary Juvenile Diversion Program (JDP) through the Probation Department where participation is required by both the juvenile and the parents/guardians. Diversion will be available to certain first-time juvenile offenders and their families as an alternative to the court process. The JDP will also serve to establish alternatives to incarceration of status offenders and non criminal youth in need in the Standing Rock Youth Services Center. This project will focus on children between the ages of 7 and 17 who become involved in the justice system. The objective of the JDP will be to adhere to the 1974 mandate of the federal Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDP) which is a strong federal policy prohibiting the secure detention of status offenders and noncriminal minors. The JDP will encourage the referral of status offenders to counseling, treatment, and other programs in non-secure (unlocked) environments. The JDP will provide an opportunity to reform and improve the attitude, behavior and conduct of the juvenile offender in lieu of formal court prosecution while holding the juvenile accountable for his/her conduct by exploring the reasons for their inappropriate behavior. The JDP will provide youth with decision making skills to avoid future criminal behavior through identifying the juvenile's strengths and negative influences and referring them to the program best suited to fit their needs.
Performance measures will be documented and reported by diversion staff, and school resource officers and attendance personnel will report on the effect of the program for participating youth regarding school behavior and attendance. Diversion staff will organize data into tables and groups throughout the project period so information will be readily available for review by project partners. Formal project evaluations will be reported on an annual basis.
CA/NCF