2013 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 et. seq.). 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 State of South Carolina bears the primary financial burden for the administration of juvenile justice within the State. Ninety-one percent of all expenses associated with the JABG program purpose areas are directly incurred by the State. South Carolina's Department of Public Safety (DCCPS) administers the state's JABG funds. South Carolina will focus on the following purpose areas: #1 Graduated Sanctions, #3 Court Staffing and Pre-Trial Services, #12 Risk and Needs Assessment, #16 Detention/Corrections Personnel, and #17 Re-entry. The overall goal of the program is to reduce the secure detention of juveniles and improve disposition alternatives available to law enforcement and prosecutors' offices. Activities will include alternatives to secure detention, including increasing the effectiveness of services to youth involved in the juvenile justice system. They will also include programs at the local level that will work for or with law enforcement to find alternative placements or arrangements for youth who are or 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, recidivism rates, numerical reductions in the use of secure detention for nonviolent youth and the number of youth completing the graduated sanctions programs. NCA/NCF