Juvenile Accountability Block Grant (JABG)


Provides funds to units of local government to enhance their efforts to combat serious and violent juvenile crime through accountability-based reforms. Funding amounts are based on a federal formula that takes into account local criminal justice expenditures and the level of violent crime (federally funded).
 

Direct Allocations

The Juvenile Accountability Block Grants Program (JABG) provides funds to states and units of local government to enhance their efforts to combat serious and violent juvenile crime through accountability-based reforms. Accountability in juvenile justice means assuring that, as a result of their wrongdoing, juvenile offenders face consequences that make them aware of and answerable for the loss, damage, or injury perpetrated upon the victim.

Originally established in 1998, the program was renamed (it was formerly called the Juvenile Accountability Incentive Block Grants program), revised and placed under Title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 2002. At the federal level, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention administers the JABG program. JABG grants are awarded to the states, which in turn are required to pass through a majority of the funding (75 percent) to eligible units of local government. Each state receives a base amount of 0.5 percent of the federal funds available, with the remainder of the funds divided among the states based on their under 18 population. The amount of funds appropriated by Congress for the JABG program has declined steadily since its inception.

Funding amounts for units of local government are based on a formula that takes into account local criminal justice expenditures and the level of violent crime. The minimum amount for a sub-grant is $10,000. If an allocation for a unit of local government is less than $10,000, the amount is retained by the state and must be expended to provide specified services to local governments.

To encourage communities to maximize resources, grantees are required to form a local advisory board that is responsible for developing a Coordinated Enforcement Plan for reducing juvenile crime. This board must include representatives from the police, sheriff, prosecutor, probation, juvenile court, schools and business; the board may also include religious, fraternal, nonprofit, or social services organizations involved in crime prevention. Applicants must agree to provide cash match in the amount of 10 percent of the total funds to be expended; if the application is related to construction of corrections facilities, a 50 percent match is required.

Funds awarded in this non-competitive process must be expended in one or more of 17 federally designated program purpose areas – e.g., developing, implementing and administering graduated sanctions for juvenile offenders; establishing drug court programs, restorative justice programs, and/or accountability-based programs to improve school safety; implementing programs to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of juvenile courts and probation officers in reducing recidivism. The state and its sub-grantees must report annually on specified performance measures for the JABG program purpose areas.

 

JABG Program Purpose Areas

The goal of the JABG program is to reduce juvenile offending through accountability-based programs focused on juvenile offenders and the juvenile justice system. To meet that goal and strengthen the juvenile justice system, a state or unit of local government may use JABG funds to perform the activities below.

  • Graduated Sanctions
  • Corrections/Detention Facilities
  • Court Staffing and Pretrial Services
  • Prosecutors (Staffing)
  • Prosecutors (Funding)
  • Training for Law Enforcement and Court Personnel
  • Juvenile Gun Courts
  • Juvenile Drug Courts
  • Juvenile Records System
  • Information Sharing
  • Accountability
  • Risk and Needs Assessment
  • School Safety
  • Restorative Justice
  • Juvenile Courts and Probation
  • Detention/Corrections Personnel
  • Reentry
  • Indigent Offense

 

Project Descriptions - PDF

EBP-TIPS - PDF

EBP Training Project - PDF