OJJDP's Juvenile Justice System Improvement Grants program was established to provide grants and cooperative agreements to organizations that provide programs and services critical to the mission of OJJDP, and organizations that OJJDP has selected for funds in prior years. This program will be authorized by an Act appropriating funds for the Department of Justice.
The Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) continues to significantly improve outcomes for youth and their families, reducing rearrests and reconviction rates, and supporting an overall transformation of their reentry policies and practices. The DJJ has established two broad, system-level goals that will use evidence and data to guide policies, programs, and practices, and develop a coordinated, family-centered approach to case planning, case management, and service delivery. In order to reach these goals, one of DJJs strategies is to develop and implement a consistent and better coordinated family and community-driven reentry planning process. DJJ has completed an initial draft of the agencys Reentry and Intervention Manual, which reflects the key policy and practice reform areas identified during the planning process. With additional funds from OJJDP, DJJ will:
Strengthen the implementation of the Youth Assessment and Screening Instrument across the reentry continuum.
Expand and enhance the use of evidence-based programs.
Develop and implement a coordinated community-driven reentry planning process.
Create opportunities for increased family contact and engagement.
Identify housing opportunities for youth returning to the community.
Implement an employment match program to partner with community-based employers to increase job opportunities for youth returning to the community.
Pilot test the Reentry and Intervention manual with probation and parole staff statewide.
Finalize the Reentry and Intervention manual based on information learned from the pilot test and implement the manual statewide in June 2016.
Develop and deliver training on the Reentry and Intervention Manual to staff statewide.
NCA/NCF
