U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

Alternatives to detention and incarceration

OJJDP FY24 Building Local Continuums of Care to Support Youth Success

Closing Date
Grants.gov Deadline
Application JustGrants Deadline
With this solicitation, OJJDP seeks applications for funding to assist jurisdictions in planning and assessing promising and evidence-based prevention and intervention services that will inform the development of a community-based continuum of care for youth at risk of becoming or already involved in the juvenile justice system.

OJJDP FY 2023 Family-Based Alternative Justice Program

Closing Date
Grants.gov Deadline
Application JustGrants Deadline
This program seeks to build the capacity of states, communities, state and local courts, units of local government, and federally recognized Tribal governments to implement new, or enhance existing, diversion and alternative justice programs for parents in the criminal justice system to mitigate the harmful impacts of incarceration on children and their families to improve child, parent, and family outcomes.

OJJDP FY 2023 Community-Based Alternatives to Youth Incarceration

Closing Date
Grants.gov Deadline
Application JustGrants Deadline
With this solicitation, OJJDP seeks to fund jurisdictions to close and repurpose youth detention and correctional facilities, reinvest cost savings to expand community-based alternatives to youth incarceration, and assess and respond to the economic impact of closures on facility staff and surrounding communities.

What Youth Justice Means to Youth: A Vision for the Future

November 2022
Series
Youth Justice Action Month
On October 27, 2022, OJJDP held a panel discussion, “What Youth Justice Means to Youth: A Vision for the Future. Co-hosted with the Coalition for Juvenile Justice and the National Juvenile Justice Network, the event featured youth leaders with lived experience in the juvenile justice system, who presented their recommendations for a "Youth-Centered Vision of Justice" to OJJDP leadership.

Review the YouTube Terms of Service and the Google Privacy Policy

New Blog Highlights OJJDP's Priority To Serve Justice-Involved Youth At Home in Their Communities

Youth Justice Action Month

In a recent blog, OJJDP Administrator Liz Ryan emphasizes the importance of serving justice-involved youth at home, with their families and in their communities, one of three priorities that guides the work of OJJDP. This is the second of three blog posts by Ryan during National Youth Justice Action Month (YJAM), recognized each October to raise awareness and highlight the need to support justice-involved...

Serving Justice-Involved Youth at Home, With Community Support

Blog by OJJDP Administrator Liz Ryan

By Liz Ryan, OJJDP Administrator

October is Youth Justice Action Month, a national observance underscoring the need for equity in the juvenile justice system and for centering directly impacted youth and their families to advance youth justice. OJJDP is committed to transforming the juvenile justice system to promote the welfare of all youth. Three priorities guide our work: 1) Treat children as children. 2) Serve...

Treating Children as Children

Blog by OJJDP Administrator Liz Ryan

By Liz Ryan, OJJDP Administrator 

October is Youth Justice Action Month, a national observance underscoring the need for equity in the juvenile justice system and for centering directly impacted youth and their families to advance youth justice. OJJDP is committed to transforming the juvenile justice system to promote the welfare of all youth. Three priorities guide our work: 1) Treat children as children. 2)...

New OJJDP Initiative Promotes Community-Based Alternatives to Youth Incarceration

Blog by OJJDP Administrator Liz Ryan

By Liz Ryan, OJJDP Administrator 

Far too many young people are housed in juvenile justice facilities, and often their detention does more harm than good. Community-based alternatives—working with youth where they live—achieve better results than warehousing youth in prisons. 

We currently spend an estimated $5 billion per year to incarcerate children. And research shows that locking up kids doesn’t work. This money is better spent...