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Juvenile
Services Grant Funds (State Funding)
Juvenile
Services Grant Funds are state funds appropriated by the Nebraska
Legislature and
administered by the Nebraska Crime Commission.
Availability of funds is announced on an annual basis and applications
are accepted through a competitive grant process.
The purpose
of these funds, as outlined in state statute, is to assist communities
in the
implementation and operation of programs or services identified in
their
comprehensive juvenile services plan, including but not limited
to: programs for assessment and evaluation, the
prevention of delinquent behavior, diversion, detention, shelter care,
intensive juvenile probation services, restitution, family support
services,
and community centers for the care and treatment of juveniles in need
of
services. The Nebraska
Coalition for
Juvenile Justice in conjunction with the Crime Commission develops
a Three Year
Plan for all juvenile justice grant funds.
Juvenile Services dollars are generally prioritized based on the needs
identified in this Three Year Plan.
Juvenile
Justice and Delinquency Prevention (Federal Funding)
In 1974
Congress passes the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
Act. The Act requires the deinstitutionalization
of status offenders and non-offenders, sight and sound separation of
juvenile
and adult offenders in jail and correctional settings, removal of
juveniles
from adult jails and lockups, and an assessment of disproportionate
minority
contact in the juvenile justice system.
These are known as the four core requirements of the Act. The Office of Juvenile
Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) is the federal office
designated to oversee the grant funds related to
the Act.
States must
be in compliance with all four requirements in order to receive the
full Title
II grant allocation. Nebraska has
gained full compliance and therefore receives the full amount
available. Title II is a formula grant, thus the allocation
is based on a formula using the states population, juvenile population,
and
various other factors. States must use
these funds to gain compliance with the core requirements. Once
compliance is attained, states can
focus on other issues relating to juvenile justice such as substance
abuse,
mental health, gangs, rural issues, education, and other related topics
as
identified in the state Three Year Plan.
The Act
requires each state to have a State Advisory Group to facilitate a Three Year
Plan for juvenile justice grant funds and make recommendations on
subsequent
funding. The Nebraska Coalition for
Juvenile Justice (NCJJ) is Nebraska’s State Advisory Group and
makes
recommendations on funding to the Nebraska Crime Commission who gives
final
approval for all funding.
Juvenile
Accountability Block Grant Program (JAIBG)
Title II Federal
Funds
The Juvenile Accountability Incentive Block Grant (JAIBG)
Program began in 1998 with an appropriation from Congress. The
Office of Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention was charged with developing guidelines for the
program. The purpose of the program is
to promote greater accountability in the juvenile justice system.
The guidelines established twelve Program
Purpose Areas by which states are supposed to be able to develop
greater
accountability. These purpose areas
include construction of juvenile facilities, development of
accountability
based programs and sanctions, hiring of juvenile justice personnel,
technology,
and specialized courts.
The program has now been established in legislation with the
Re-authorization of the JJDP Act in 2002.
The new program guidelines and name (Juvenile Accountability Block
Grant) will took effect October 1, 2003.
The new guidelines expand the program purpose areas to 16 to include
mental health and expanded accountability options.
The JAIBG program is different than the other juvenile
programs listed above. Based on a
formula developed by OJJDP, cities and counties are given a
pre-determined sum
of money. Based on the formula eligible
cities and counties may receive a sum of $10,000 or more. This
formula is based on juvenile
population, law enforcement expenditures and a variety of other factors
which
is figured at the federal level and passed down to the states. In
order to receive the pre-determined sum
of money, the community must develop a three year plan, establish a
Juvenile
Crime Enforcement Coalition, and provide a 10% cash match.
Cities and counties are allowed to work
together and pool their funds to better utilize the money. The
Crime Commission is the pass through
agency and awards the pre-determined awards on an annual basis to those
communities who wish to receive their pre-determined award and who meet
the
established criteria. There are many
communities who receive less than $10,000.
OJJDP recognized that generally this is not enough money to meet the
purpose of the program, therefore, the state retains those funds and is
responsible for developing a plan to meet the needs of the state in one
or more
of the purpose areas.
Title V Delinquency
Prevention Funds
Title V funds focus strictly on delinquency
prevention programming, particularly model and science based
programs. These funds are also formula grant funds
and the Crime Commission receives a pre-determined amount from
OJJDP. Only units of local government are eligible
to apply. They have to develop a
comprehensive Three Year Prevention Plan and establish and Prevention
Policy
Board. Using model programs found on
OJJDP site at http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org/titlev/index.html is
strongly encouraged.
Deliquency
Prevention Block Grant
Congress created these funds with the Re-authorization of
the JJDP Act in 2002, however, the program has yet to be appropriated
funds for
distribution to states. OJJDP continues
to work on guidelines for the program in the event funds are
appropriated, the
program can begin in a timely manner.
Nebraska’s
Three Year Plan and Accomplishments
2012-2014 Three Year Plan
In order to receive federal
Title II formula and Juvenile Accountability Block grant funding from
the
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the state is
required to
develop a comprehensive three year plan.
The Crime Commission is
required to focus on the four core requirements of the act in their
plan. Three relate to compliance with the
act: Jail Removal, Sight and Sound
Separation and Deinstitutionalization of Status Offenders. To
learn more about compliance with these
three requirements see the Compliance Monitoring portion of the
website. The fourth requirement is to assess and
address Disproportionate Minority Contact in the Juvenile Justice
System. To learn more about the DMC initiatives
please see the DMC portion of the website.
Nebraska is in compliance with all four core requirements.
Should the state at some point not be in
compliance, a portion of grant funding is lost until compliance can be
regained.
Once a state is in
compliance, other juvenile justice problems and issues in the state can
be
investigated and addressed. The
following is a summary of the five priority problem statements that are
the
focus of the plan and activities and accomplishments under each.
A common goal that flows through each
priority is to continually work to develop strong collaboration and
coordination between local, state, private and federal entities.
| 1.
Youth in Nebraska are subject to multiple
uncoordinated screening tools, risk/needs assessments and evaluations. |
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a. An
initiative is underway between
Probation and
HHS/OJS to implement a standardized risk/needs assessment tool- the
Youth Level
of Service/Case Management Instrument (YLS/CMI). A pilot project
and validation of the tool to Nebraska was
completed and training and implementation has begun. |
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b. Funds have
been used to support the three
juvenile
assessment centers in Douglas, Sarpy and Lancaster County.
Buffalo County has also started developing a
“mobile” assessment center concept.
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c. The Crime
Commission is involved in
the standardized
model for substance abuse initiative. |
| 2.
The State of Nebraska has no statewide
juvenile justice information system. |
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a. Funds have
been used to develop a
strategic
plan for developing a statewide information system. |
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b. Due to
LB43, a statewide juvenile diversion
data
collection system has been developed. |
| 3.
Evaluation of grant and other programs is
limited. |
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a. Evaluation
training has been added to
Crime
Commission grant management and grant writing training.
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b. A pilot
evaluation project of Crime
Commission grant
funded mentoring and after school programs is underway. |
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c. The
Juvenile Justice Institute will
also prepare an
initial report and evaluation of the juvenile diversion programs
statewide. |
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d. The
establishment of JJI by the legislature
as been
instrumental in moving evaluation forward in the state. |
| 4.
Alternative to Detention programs are not
consistently available in communities statewide. |
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a. Grant funds
continue to be targeted in
communities
that have developed comprehensive community plans and identified
specific
alternatives as solutions in their communities. |
| 5.
Many communities, particularly rural, are
struggling to develop a continuum of community based programs ranging
from
prevention to aftercare. |
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a. Expanding
diversion programs statewide
has been the
main focus in this arena. Funding has
been targeted to help diversion programs get started in various rural
counties. |
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b. Through the
partnership with JJI, the LB 43
requirement to report data will be met.
A case management system has been developed that will not only allow
programs to submit data, but to have control over their data and manage
their
cases effectively. The collection of
this data will help assess many other issues statewide. |
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c. Funds
are also targeted towards counties who have developed comprehensive
juvenile
services plans and identified key solutions to documented problems. |
Nebraska
Coalition for Juvenile Justice (NCJJ)
The Nebraska Coalition for
Juvenile Justice (NCJJ) was established in 1982, as required by the
Juvenile
Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act.
The NCJJ acts as an advisory group to the Nebraska Crime Commission,
and
is responsible for making recommendations for federal JJDP Act and
JAIBG
funding. Additionally, the group
members assist in developing the comprehensive three year plan, monitor
existing juvenile justice programs and issues, and advocate to improve
the
system and educate others on juvenile justice issues. Members are
appointed by the Governor and represent a broad cross
section of citizens and professionals.
The goal of the Coalition
is to improve all aspects of the juvenile justice system in the State
of
Nebraska by assisting communities and the state with planning and
implementation of systemic improvements, advocacy, education and
recommending
award of JJDP Act funds for such purposes. The
purpose of the Coalition is to improve the lives and future of
children, youth
and families involved in the juvenile justice system.
Disproportionate
Minority Contact (DMC)
What is DMC?
Disproportionate
Minority
Contact, or DMC, originally referred to the overrepresentation of
children of
minority races and cultures in confined settings, but the definition
now
includes the overrepresentation of minority youth at each point in the
juvenile
justice system.
For
the most part, it is
not that our systems are intentionally biased, but our systems may well
be
inadvertently biased. It is vital that
we begin examining how we view families and their circumstances within
their
unique culture.
How do we know if there is
overrepresentation?
Most
over representation
occurs when the percent of individuals served in the system is larger
than the
percent in your community. For example,
if African American youth make up 5% of your community, but 30% of
youth in
detention are African American, then African American youth are
over-represented at six times the population rate.
Why does overrepresentation occur?
Confinement
vs.
contact. We have begun to look at
“overrepresentation” by the number of contacts youth have with our
juvenile
systems. It is clear that
over-representation starts much earlier than the point when a youth is
confined. Do more minority youth commit
offenses that warrant being detained?
Is it that minority youth entering the system have a longer history of
juvenile offenses and are more likely to be detained? Some might
argue this, but research indicates that this isn’t the
case.
Socio-economics
can place
an offender at a disadvantage because the family’s situation affects a
variety
of factors: whether a family has legal
representation, whether a parent is able to attend appointments and
court
hearings during daytime hours, whether the family has a phone, whether
they
have transportation to services and court dates. Language
barriers may also lead to certain groups being
over-represented. If a family does not
understand the juvenile justice process, the individual explaining the
process or
an important legal document- like a summons- the youth frequently ends
up further
entangled in the juvenile justice system than necessary.
Why should we address this?
In
1992, Congress
reauthorized the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act and
substantially strengthened efforts to address over-representation of
minorities
in our juvenile systems. Although
Congress had originally addressed DMC in the 1988 Act, the efforts in
1992
elevated the status to a “core requirement”.
Other “core requirements” include the deinstitutionalization of status
offenders, removing juveniles from adult jails and lockups, and the
sight and
sound separation requirement.
States
(and consequently
counties and cities) must remain in compliance with the DMC requirement
or risk
losing a portion of the State’s Formula Grant Funds. The Nebraska
Coalition for Juvenile Justice, an advisory
committee to the Nebraska Crime Commission, has an active sub-committee
and
part time coordinator dedicated to moving the states DMC initiatives
forward. The Mission Statement of the
committee is:
To
promote awareness of problems that are impacting
minority youth/adolescents involved with or at risk of involvement with
the
juvenile justice system in Nebraska, and to aggressively support
resolutions
designed to address the problems affecting these populations.
Contact Information
Please contact
the Crime Commission for the DMC Committee and Nebraska's
coordinator information.
Compliance
Monitoring
The Nebraska Crime Commission is responsible for
monitoring Nebraska’s compliance with the federal Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention (JJDP) Act. The
JJDP Act is a federal law governing the incarceration of juveniles in
detention
and correctional facilities, including juveniles placed in a secure
area or
locked room of a facility or a program pursuant to public authority.
Quick Reference
Guide
for Jails/Lock-ups and Detention Centers
This is a Quick Reference Guide for detaining
juveniles in (Urban) Adult
Jails/Lock-ups, (Rural) Adult Jails/Lock-ups, Juvenile Detention
Centers,
and Court Holding Facilities. The Guide is broken up page-by-page
in
regards to whether the juvenile is a Non-Offender, a Status Offender,
or a
Juvenile Delinquent. There is also a list of definitions if you are unsure
as to what type of juvenile you are dealing with or what your facility
is
classified as. Please contact the Juvenile Compliance Montor at the Crime Commission
if there
are any questions about the detention of juveniles in your facility.
Special
Juvenile Justice Initiatives and Reports
Diversion
Drug Court
Evaluations
Juvenile Justice
Programs
County
Comprehensive Juvenile Services Plans
Comunity
Plan Requirements (Updated 04/07/2010)
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