Award Information
Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2016, $833,736)
Section 101 of the Second Chance Act authorizes the Department of Justice to award grants to states to improve reentry outcomes for incarcerated youth. This program will provide grants to support the implementation of an existing statewide plan to better align juvenile justice policy, practice, and resource allocation with what research shows works to reduce recidivism and improve outcomes for youth in contact with the juvenile justice system. This program is authorized pursuant to Section 101 of the Second Chance Act, 42 U.S.C. § 3797w; Pub. L. No. 110-199.
The State of Delaware made significant strides for more than a decade to improve the juvenile justice system under the direction of the Department of Youth Rehabilitative Services (DYRS). The DYRS, enacted the Juvenile Justice Collaborative (JJC), a multi-agency committee composed of decision makers from DYRS, Family Court, Superior Court, Criminal Justice Council, Attorney General, Office of Defense Services, Statistical Analysis Center, Justice of the Peace Court, community service providers and state and local executive staff, responsible for implementing systems change within the department. The results led to expanded community-based resources and provided a continuum of individualized, team and family based services. A recent assessment report on the performance of Delawares juvenile justice system, identified performance gaps and recommended improvements to the strategic approach. With funding from OJJDP, the state will: (1) address the gaps affecting the reliability, validity and quality of the Positive Achievement Change Tool (PACT) utilized to assess youths risk to re-offend and identify criminogenic needs and protective factors, (2) form a subcommittee of the JJC to implement statewide system improvements in youth recidivism reduction and quality improvement of evidence based services, (3) improve data development and program management capabilities, and (4) reduce the number of violent offenders entering the criminal justice system and divert lower level offenders to community supervision.
CA/NCF