Assistance Grants Programs
A large portion of OJJDP's annual appropriation supports three programs that award funds directly to States to help communities combat juvenile crime and develop programs directed toward youth who are at risk of committing delinquent or criminal acts. Each has made significant contributions to the field of juvenile justice during the past 2 years.
The oldest of these programs, the Formula Grants Program, has fundamentally changed the way in which the juvenile justice system detains juveniles. It has been especially successful in helping States meet the needs of noncriminal juveniles -- or status offenders -- who were being confined in facilities where they did not belong and in removing juvenile offenders from adult jails and lockups where they were subject to abuse and influence by adult criminals. The Office is equally proud of the Title V Program, which is providing communities with the framework, tools, and initial funding needed to develop and implement delinquency prevention programs. It is especially exciting to see communities, which in the past had asked the Federal Government to help them "do something" about their growing juvenile crime problems, address these problems themselves through a methodical assessment of community needs. Early indications show that this strategy of helping communities develop programs designed to meet their specific needs is successful.
| The University of Iowa, hired by the State to evaluate the planning, program implementation, and early outcomes of 20 of its Title V prevention grants programs, concluded that many programs are producing positive changes in client attitudes and behaviors.
|
The accomplishments of OJJDP's three formula grants programs -- State Formula Grants Program, Title V Incentive Grants for Local Delinquency Prevention Program, and State Challenge Activities -- are described in this chapter.
| Previous | Contents | Next |
| OJJDP Annual Report | August 1998 |