OJJDP FY 2023 Second Chance Act Youth Offender Reentry Program

Overview

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) seeks applications for funding that enhance collaboration between state agencies, local government agencies, Tribes, and community- and faith-based organizations to improve and address the challenges that reentry and recidivism reduction pose for youth assessed at a moderate to high risk of reoffending and who are returning to their communities from juvenile residential or correctional facilities. The FY 2023 Second Chance Act Youth Reentry Program also supports intensive assistance for jurisdictions working to improve their community supervision practices and build strong juvenile reentry data and performance measurement capacity. This program furthers the DOJ’s mission by supporting efforts to reduce recidivism and improve outcomes for youth returning to their communities following confinement.

Applicants 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).

This solicitation is composed of three grant categories. Applicants must clearly designate the category for which they are applying. 

Category 1: Improving Youth Reentry
The objective of Category 1 programs is to identify and address the criminogenic and noncriminogenic needs of youth for risk of reoffending and develop and implement comprehensive pre- and postrelease reentry plans, to include case management as well as identification and coordination of appropriate community-based programs as they return to their communities following confinement. residential facility.

Category 2: Strengthening Community-Based Youth Reentry Programs 
Objectives of the Category 2 programs include the implementation and/or expansion of community-based reentry programs and services that demonstrate partnerships with corrections, parole, probation, and other reentry service providers. These partnerships should collaboratively develop and implement comprehensive, pre- and postrelease case management plans that directly address youth’s criminogenic and noncriminogenic needs, as determined by validated risk and needs assessment tools.

Category 3: Youth Reentry Training and Technical Assistance
Under this category, a training and technical assistance (TTA) provider will provide support and guidance to SCA Youth Reentry grantees and practitioners to improve community supervision practices, produce better outcomes for youth and communities, reduce recidivism, improve public safety, and enhance jurisdictions’ access to the tools and training to adequately identify, as well as effectively serve, these youth’s needs. A multidisciplinary team of experts in implementation science, community supervision, adolescent development, trauma-informed care, data analysis, and performance measurement will help the selected jurisdictions improve their community supervision programs, policies, and practices. Category 3 applicants will be required to address the following three areas: 

1. National Training and Technical Assistance – The Youth Reentry TTA provider will support Category 1 and 2 grantees and reentry practitioners with resources and guidance to improve their reentry systems and reduce crime and recidivism among youth returning from detention and incarceration to their communities.  
2. Youth Justice Fellowship Program -- The Youth Reentry TTA provider will develop a fellowship program. Youth Justice Fellows will directly participate in delivering TTA and shaping resources for youth reentry that support youth, families, and communities. 
3. Youth Reentry Resource -- The Youth Reentry TTA provider will develop and share youth reentry resources with the National Reentry Resource Center.

The following entities are eligible to apply for each category. 

Category 1: Improving Youth Reentry

• State governments 
• City or township governments 
• County governments 
• Native American governments (federally recognized) 

Category 2: Strengthening Community-Based Youth Reentry Programs 

• Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education 
• Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education 
• Native American organizations (other than federally recognized governments) 

Category 3: Youth Reentry Training and Technical Assistance

• Public and state-controlled institutions of higher education 
• Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education 
• Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education 
• Private institutions of higher education For-profit organizations other than small businesses Small businesses

Dollar amount for award: 
Category 1: $750,000.00 
Category 2: $750,000.00 
Category 3: $2,650,000.00 

Matching funds: Category 1 - Improving Youth Reentry requires a 50 percent (cash or in-kind) match based on the federal award amount. Categories 2 and 3 do not require a match. 

For Cat. 3, a submission must show a minimum of $2,000,000 allocated in the budget for direct support of Category 1 and 2 sites and a minimum of $500,000 to support the Youth Justice Fellowship Program.

An applicant entity may submit more than one application, if each application proposes a different project in response to the solicitation. Also, an entity may be proposed as a subrecipient (subgrantee) in more than one application.

OJJDP will hold a solicitation webinar on May 4, 2023 at 2:00pm EST. This call will provide a detailed overview of the solicitation and allow an opportunity for interested applicants to ask questions. Preregistration is required for all participants. Register by clicking on this link and following the instructions.