Building Local Continuums of Care to Support Youth Success

Overview

OJP is committed to advancing work that promotes civil rights and racial equity, increases access to justice, supports crime victims and individuals impacted by the justice system, strengthens community safety and protects the public from crime and evolving threats, and builds trust between law enforcement and the community. 

OJJDP's guiding philosophy is to enhance the welfare of America’s youth and broaden their opportunities for a better future. To bring these goals to fruition, OJJDP is leading efforts to transform the juvenile justice system into one that will Treat Children as Children; Serve Children at Home, With Their Families, in Their Communities; and Open Up Opportunities for System-Involved Youth. OJJDP encourages all proposed applications that work with youth to highlight how the proposed program aligns with these priorities. 

OJJDP envisions a juvenile justice system centered on the strengths, needs, and voices of youth and families. Young people and family members with lived experience are vital resources for understanding and reaching persons involved or at risk of involvement with youth-serving systems. OJJDP asks stakeholders to join us in sustainably integrating bold, transformative youth and family partnership strategies into our daily work. OJJDP believes in achieving positive outcomes for youth, families, and communities through meaningful engagement and active partnerships, ensuring they play a central role in collaboratively developing solutions.

Applicants under all categories must describe how their proposed project/program will integrate and sustain meaningful youth and family partnerships into their project plan and budget. Depending on the nature of an applicant’s proposed project, youth and family partnership could consist of one or more of the following:

•  Individual-level partnership in case planning and direct service delivery (before, during, and after contact with youth-serving systems).
• Agency-level partnership (e.g., in policy, practice, and program development, implementation, and evaluation; staffing; advisory bodies; budget development).
• System-level partnership (e.g., in strategic planning activities, system improvement initiatives, advocacy strategies, reform efforts).

With this solicitation, OJJDP seeks to support communities in conducting planning and assessment activities that will inform the development of a community-based continuum of promising and evidence-based prevention and intervention services that will serve as a strong foundation for preventing youth from entering the juvenile justice system, diverting them from moving deeper into the system (i.e., detention and corrections) and ultimately providing them with the skills they need to lead productive, safe, healthy, and law-abiding lives.

There are three categories of funding available under this solicitation:

Category 1: State Agency Planning and Assessment Sites and

Category 2: Local Planning and Assessment Sites

These categories support the efforts of eligible applicants to conduct a planning and assessment process that will identify gaps and assist in achieving cost savings through reforms.  These savings can be reinvested in the development and implementation of promising practices and evidence-based prevention and intervention strategies as part of a community-based continuum of care for youth at risk of or already involved in the juvenile justice system.

Category 3: Training and Technical Assistance

This category will support a training and technical assistance provider to help states and local communities build the capacity of their service networks for youth through asset mapping, gap analysis, and service delivery planning, including strategic financing information, education, and sustainability planning across the continuum of care for youth. This will include assistance in identify strategies on how to identify and achieve any potential cost-savings and reinvest those savings into effective delinquency prevention and intervention programming.  Training and technical assistance will be delivered nationally with intensive priority support to program sites funded in Categories 1 and 2. The training and technical assistance provider will also develop tools, resources, and best-practice information and guidelines on developing and sustaining a community-based continuum of care to support the larger youth-serving field.

Category 1: State Agency Planning and Assessment Sites 
Number of Awards: 8 
Dollar Amount for Award: Up to $800000
Performance Start Date: 1/1/24 12:00
Period of Performance Duration (Months): 18

Category 2: Local Planning and Assessment Sites 
Number of Awards: 16
Dollar Amount for Award: Up to $425000 
Performance Start Date: 1/1/24 12:00
Period of Performance Duration (Months): 18

Category 3: Training and Technical Assistance
Number of Awards: 2
Dollar Amount for Award: Up to $1500000 
Performance Start Date: 1/1/24 12:00
Period of Performance Duration (Months): 24