In Fiscal Year 1998 a total of $18,833,000 was made available for distribution to the States under the Community Prevention Grants Program. This sum includes unallocated funds from Fiscal Year 1997 ($33,000) combined with $18.8 million in Fiscal Year 1998 Title V funds ($20 million appropriated less the $1.2 million to the SafeFutures Initiative³). Exhibit 5 displays the allocation of funds for which each State was eligible in Fiscal Year 1998, as well as in the prior 4 years of the program (Fiscal Years 1994-1997). Up to 5 percent of a State's allocation can be used to cover the costs of administering and evaluating the Title V subgrants and to support SAG activities related to the program, with not less than 95 percent competitively awarded as subgrants to units of general local government. In Fiscal Year 1998, only two States (Wyoming and South Dakota) and one Territory (U.S. Virgin Islands) did not submit an application for Title V Community Prevention Grants Program funds.

As discussed in Chapter I, State agencies award Title V subgrants to eligible units of general local government. The award process generally includes a Request for Proposals (RFP) issued by the State, a competitive review of local subgrant applications based on criteria established by the SAG, and subsequent award of subgrants by the State grantee agency to units of general local government. States award grants to units of general local government in annual increments covering not more than 12 months, with overall project periods of 12 to 36 months. Exhibit 6 presents the total number of communities with subgrants awarded since Fiscal Year 1994 for each participating State.

Using Fiscal Year 1998 funds, a total of 136 subgrants were awarded, ranging from $3,000 to $500,000. Subgrantees reflect a diverse group of communities nationwide -- such as Santa Barbara, California; Jacksonville, Florida; Milford, Delaware; Dothan County, Alabama; Tooele County, Utah; and Hannaville Native American Community, Michigan -- both urban and rural, small and large. In 1998, States awarded subgrants to both "new" grantees (those who had not received a subgrant in previous years) and "continuing" grantees (those who previously had been awarded a subgrant and were receiving second or third year funds). The number of new and continuation subgrants awarded with Fiscal Year 1998 funds, as well as the average amount of these awards and the number of subgrant awards pending, are shown in Exhibit 7.

Of the total 136 Fiscal Year 1998 subgrants, 33 went to new grantees receiving Title V subgrants for the first time. To date, 29 States have not yet awarded their Fiscal Year 1998 Title V funds, and another 13 States have awarded some but not all of their Fiscal Year 1998 funds. Overall, 17 States have indicated that they are planning to award subgrants to 116 new communities, which would bring the total number of communities nationwide that have received funding under the Community Prevention Grants Program to 735.

As the new subgrantees begin the preliminary stages of mobilizing their communities and implementing strategies to address priority risk and protective factors, others are completing their 3-year plans. Throughout the country, approximately 216 communities have now received a full 3 years of Title V funding (an average of approximately $180,000 for the 3-year period), and are experiencing encouraging results from their efforts. Estimates indicate that approximately 82 percent of completed subgrants have been sustained following the end of the award period through alternative funding sources.

Exhibit 5: Allocation of Community Prevention Grants Program Funds (1994-1998)

Exhibit 6: Community Prevention Grants Program

¹ Information in the table refers to State subgrant award activity using FY 98 funds. Other States have not yet made subgrant awards using FY 98 funds.

² "# of New Subgrants Awarded" refers to the number of subgrantees that received a Title V subgrant for the first time with FY 98 funds (as distinguished from those that received continuation funding following initial awards with FY 94, FY 95, FY 96, or FY 97 program funds).

³ "# of Continued Subgrants" refers to the number of awards with FY 98 funds made to communities with prior years' funding.

⁴ "# of Pending New Subgrants" indicates the number of additional subgrant awards for new Title V subgrantees that are "pending" but not yet final (i.e., the States have selected the subgrantees but the award paperwork and/or announcements have not been completed).

The demand for Community Prevention Grant funds remains high. Besides the 136 communities that received subgrants from Fiscal Year 1998 funds and the 280 communities that are awaiting pending awards (116 new and 164 continuation communities), an estimated 125 communities that applied for funding were turned down due to a lack of Title V funds. Additionally, Michigan and Iowa (as well as other States) have allocated substantial amounts of Title II and State monies to support more than 30 additional communities in implementing outcome-based, risk- and protection-focused delinquency prevention strategies.

Communities vary in how far they have progressed in their delinquency prevention efforts. A total of 142 communities received funding for the first time over the last year (33 from Fiscal Year 1998 funds and 109 from prior year funds) and are just beginning to initiate their prevention strategies. At the same time, other communities that received continuation subgrants have been implementing their programs for 2 or 3 years, and some have already demonstrated early positive changes at the local level. The following chapter describes in greater detail the experiences of communities in implementing the Title V Community Prevention Grant Program.

1998 Report to Congress: Title V Incentive Grants for Local Delinquency Prevention Programs	OJJDP Report