OJJDP’s Title II Formula Grants program helps states address juvenile delinquency and support improvements to the juvenile justice system. Formula grant funding also helps states address the core protections of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (deinstitutionalization of status offenders, separation of juveniles from adult inmates, and removal of juveniles from adult jails and lockups), as well as system efforts to reduce disproportionate minority contact (DMC) with the juvenile justice system.

As part of an officewide reorganization, OJJDP recently brought its Title II Formula Grants program work and the agency’s core protections work back together into the State Relations and Assistance Division. Under the direction of OJJDP Associate Administrator Dr. TeNeane Bradford, program specialists in the division will support Title II Formula Grants programming, advance states’ core protections work, and help states connect with training and technical assistance. Bringing the programmatic and core protections functions together will foster communication between these two related functions and enhance delivery of technical assistance.

States continue to see good results in the deinstitutionalization of status offenders, sight and sound separation, and removal of juveniles from adult jail. However, for a host of reasons, the disproportionate involvement of minority youth in the justice system remains largely unchanged. To address this complex issue, OJJDP leadership developed and will implement an outcome-based approach to address DMC. As OJJDP rolled out its plan, staff met with and received feedback from juvenile justice specialists and a cross-section of stakeholders on how the plan will impact local jurisdictions.

Beginning in 2019, the division will also implement a streamlined Title II application process that will simplify DMC data collection requirements. In addition, OJJDP will ask states to identify how they define success with their DMC reduction efforts and to evaluate the outcome of their DMC plans to assess what impact they had, if any, on disproportionality. OJJDP will then share every state’s self-identified goals, action plans, and outcomes on its website to help ensure transparency and accountability and to facilitate the sharing of successful strategies across jurisdictions.

On November 27–30, 2018, OJJDP will hold a Title II Formula Grants training for juvenile justice specialists, compliance monitors, and DMC coordinators in Baltimore, MD. For more information, see “Upcoming Events.”

Resources:

More information about the core protections of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Protection Act and about OJJDP’s Formula Grants program is available on the OJJDP website.