Delinquency Prevention in Rural Illinois Communities

The OJJDP Delinquency Prevention Program focuses on helping youth avoid involvement in delinquency through reducing risk factors and enhancing protective factors in their schools, communities, and families. Category 1 supports States to provide subgrants to units of local government to increase the availability and types of community-based prevention programs to address the needs of youth who are at risk of involvement in the juvenile justice system.

The Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) proposes to target at-risk youth and families living in the five southern counties (Alexander, Hardin, Pulaski, Gallatin, and Saline) with the highest child poverty rates and high rural populations. The applicant plans to address challenges to service delivery in those counties through partnerships with local governments and service providers to identify and create collaborative and community-based solutions. To increase the capacity of local service providers, IDHS will provide funding for training, staffing, financial support, and enhanced technology tools to support tele-health and telecommunications for school-age children and their families. CA/NCF