Office of Justice Programs Awards $261 Million To Support Youth Mentoring and Protect Children

The Department of Justice's Office of Justice Programs (OJP) has announced $261 million in awards to support mentoring services for youth and protect children from abuse, exploitation, and sex trafficking. OJJDP awarded nearly $85 million to national, state, and local organizations to provide mentoring to youth who are at risk of juvenile delinquency, victimization, and juvenile justice system involvement. This includes support of OJJDP's National Mentoring Resource Center, which provides training and resources to help mentoring programs nationwide.

In addition, OJJDP and the Office for Victims of Crime awarded more than $176 million in grant funding to help find missing children, investigate and prosecute child exploitation cases, serve abused and neglected children, and assist victims of human trafficking. Grants also address youth addiction, including the opioid epidemic.

"We can take no greater step toward securing the future health and prosperity of our nation than by investing now in the physical safety and emotional resilience of our children," said OJJDP Administrator Caren Harp.

View the OJP fact sheets for additional information about the awards to support youth mentoring and the awards to protect children.

RESOURCES: 

• Access OJJDP mentoring resources.
• View and download OJJDP's In Focus Mentoring Youth fact sheet.
• Learn how OJJDP is working to prevent child abuse through partnerships, programs, and training and technical assistance.
• Follow OJJDP on Twitter and Facebook.