FY 13 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.

Juvenile Accountability Block Grant (JABG) programming in Delaware will continue to hold serious, violent, chronic juvenile offenders increasingly accountable for the crimes they have committed. Delaware's JABG plan maintains enhancements to the state's juvenile justice system so that juvenile offenders are held accountable to the public, to the criminal justice system and to themselves. With the cooperative leadership among the member agencies, plus the ingenuity of the Criminal Justice Council, Juvenile Crime Enforcement Coalition (JCEC), Delaware's Juvenile Accountability Block Grant plan is designed to make a significant change in the juvenile justice system. Research in juvenile delinquency demonstrates that effective services take into consideration interconnecting risk mechanisms of family organization, parental supervision, peer relationships, community support, substance abuse, school participation, and history of violence and weapons use. The goal of the JCEC is to find the most innovative and effective solutions to achieve effective, accountable juvenile services. In following the goals of the Juvenile Accountability Block Grant Initiative, the sanctions for delinquent youth will be swift, certain, and appropriate to both the youth and the youth's delinquent act. Accordingly, our multidisciplinary plan for strengthening juvenile accountability through swift, certain, and appropriate intervention follows. NCA/NCF