Juvenile Justice Funding Trends

^Pr^ep^ar^{ed f}^o^r^M^e^m^b^ers^an^d^Com^mⁱ^t^t^ees^of^C^ong^r^e^ss

Although juvenile justice has always been administered by the states, Congress has had
significant influence in the area through funding for grant programs administered by the
Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP).
The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) of 1974, P.L. 93-415, was the first
comprehensive juvenile justice legislation passed by Congress. Since 1974, the act has undergone
several key amendments, including a significant reorganization enacted by P.L. 107-273 in 2002.
Funding for juvenile justice programs within DOJ declined by 38% to $348 million from FY2002
to FY2007, then increased to $384 in FY2008. In FY2009, the President’s request would reduce
juvenile justice funding within DOJ by 52% to $185 million and consolidate all existing grant
programs into one broad discretionary grant program.

The federal government has no juvenile justice system of its own. Instead, starting in the 1960s,
the federal government began establishing federal juvenile justice entities and grant programs in
order to influence the states’ juvenile justice systems. Eligibility for many of these grant programs
is tied to certain mandates that the states must adhere to in order to receive federal funding. This
report provides a brief overview of the juvenile justice grant programs and the overall
appropriation administered by OJJDP.
The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) was first passed by Congress in ¹^st

1974 and was most recently reauthorized in 2002 by the 21 Century Department of Justice ²

Appropriations Authorization Act. Unless otherwise noted, most of the JJDPA’s provisions are
currently unauthorized, having expired in FY2007. The JJDPA as originally enacted had three
main components: it created a set of institutions within the federal government that were
dedicated to coordinating and administering federal juvenile justice efforts; it established grant
programs to assist the states with setting up and running their juvenile justice systems; and it
promulgated core mandates that states had to adhere to in order to be eligible to receive grant
funding. While the JJDPA has been amended several times over the past 30 years, it continues to ³
feature the same three components. The following section outlines various juvenile justice grant
programs. With two exceptions (outlined below), these grant programs are authorized by the
JJDPA.
The JJDPA authorizes the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) to
make formula grants to states that can be used to fund the planning, establishment, operation,
coordination, and evaluation of projects for the development of more effective juvenile ⁴
delinquency programs and improved juvenile justice systems. Funds are allocated annually
among the states on the basis of relative population of people under the age of 18, and states must ⁵
adhere to certain core mandates in order to be eligible for funding. Authorization for this
program expired in FY2007.
This is a discretionary grant program that replaced a number of smaller grant programs in the
JJDPA’s last reauthorization. The program authorizes OJJDP to make funding available to carry

¹^P^.^L^.^90-⁴¹^5.
²^P^.^L^.¹⁰^7-²⁷³^.
³^{For m}^o^re^inf^o^rm^a^{tion o}ⁿ^the^le^gⁱ^sla^tiv^e^history^of^juv^e^nile^justic^e^,^re^fe^{r to CRS Re}^p^o^{rt RL}³³⁹⁴^7,^J^u^venⁱ^l^e^Ju^stⁱ^ce:
^Le^gis^l^ativ^e^Hⁱ^s^t^or^y^an^{d C}^u^r^r^e^{nt L}^e^gis^l^ativ^e^I^s^s^u^e^s^{, by}^Bla^s^N^uñe^z^-^N^e^to.
⁴^{42 U}^.^S.C^.^§⁵⁶^31.
⁵^T^h^e^r^e^a^r^e^c^u^rre^ntly^f^{our c}^o^re^m^a^nda^te^{s: sta}^t^e^s^m^u^{st de}^ins^titu^tio^na^lⁱ^z^e^theⁱ^{r sta}^t^us^of^fe^nde^rs^(suc^{h a}^s^trua^{nts); sta}^t^e^s
^c^a^nnot^de^taⁱⁿ^{or c}^o^nf^ine^juv^e^nile^s^{in f}^a^c^ilitie^s^{in w}^h^ic^{h t}^h^e^y^w^ould^ha^v^e^c^onta^c^t^w^{ith a}^dult^inm^a^te^s^;^juv^e^nile^s^c^a^nnot^to
^b^e^d^e^t^aⁱⁿ^{ed o}^r^c^oⁿ^fⁱⁿ^edⁱⁿ^an^y^j^aⁱ^l^o^r^l^o^cku^p^f^o^{r adu}^l^t^s^;^aⁿ^d^st^at^es^m^u^st^sh^o^w^t^h^at^t^h^ey^are^w^o^rkiⁿ^{g t}^o^ad^d^r^{ess t}^h^{e i}^ssu^e
^of^dispro^portⁱ^oⁿ^a^t^e^mⁱ^nority^c^onfⁱⁿ^e^m^eⁿ^t^w^{ithin t}^h^eⁱ^{r juv}^eⁿⁱ^le^justi^c^e^s^y^ste^m^s.

out a broad range of purpose areas designed to prevent juvenile delinquency.⁶ Grant funding is
allocated to the eligible states based on the proportion of their population that is under the age of

18. This grant program has not received appropriations to date.

The Challenge Grants program authorizes OJJDP to make grants to state, local, and Indian
governments and private entities in order to carry out programs that will develop, test, or ⁷
demonstrate promising new initiatives that may prevent, control, or reduce juvenile delinquency.
Authorization for this program expired in FY2007.
This grant program was repealed in 2002 by the 21^st Century Department of Justice
Reauthorization Act (P.L. 107-273); however, it has continued to receive appropriations each
subsequent fiscal year. These grants are awarded to local educational agencies (in partnership
with public or private agencies) to establish and support mentoring programs.
The Gang-Free Schools and Communities Grant program was repealed in 2002 by the 21^st
Century Department of Justice Reauthorization Act (P.L. 107-273); however, funding for “Youth
Gangs” has continued to receive appropriations each subsequent fiscal year. These grants are used
to fund a wide variety of prevention or accountability based gang projects.
The Community Prevention Block Grant program⁸ authorizes OJJDP to make grants to states,
that are then transmitted to units of local government, in order to carry out delinquency
prevention programs for juveniles who have come into contact with, or are likely to come into
contact with, the juvenile justice system. This program is authorized through FY2008.
The Juvenile Accountability Block Grant (JABG) program was originally created by the FY1998
DOJ Appropriations Act (P.L. 105-119) and was appropriated each subsequent fiscal year. The ^st
JABG program was subsequently codified by the 21 Century Department of Justice ⁹
Reauthorization Act (P.L. 107-273). Although the JABG program does not reside within the
JJDPA it is nevertheless administered by OJJDP. The JABG program authorizes the Attorney
General (AG) to make grants to states and units of local government to strengthen their juvenile

⁶^{42 U}^.^S.C^.^§⁵⁶^51.
⁷^{42 U}^.^S.C^.^§⁵⁶^65.
⁸^{42 U}^.^S.C^.^§⁵⁷^81-⁵⁷^84.
⁹^J^A^B^G^w^a^s^c^odifⁱ^e^d^w^{ithin the}^O^m^nibus^C^r^im^e^C^ontr^o^{l a}ⁿ^{d Sa}^f^e^Str^e^e^t^s^A^c^{t of}¹⁹⁶^{8 (}⁴^{2 U}^.^S^.^C^.³⁷⁹⁶^e^e⁾^.

justice systems and foster accountability within their juvenile populations by holding juveniles
accountable for their actions. The program is authorized through FY2008.
The Victims of Child Abuse Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-647) authorizes OJJDP to fund technical
assistance, training, and administrative reforms for state juvenile and family courts in order to ¹⁰
improve the way state juvenile justice systems handle cases of child abuse and neglect. This
program has been unauthorized since FY2005 but has continued to receive appropriations.
Error! Reference source not found. shows overall appropriations for juvenile justice programs
within DOJ. This juvenile justice appropriation includes funding allocated within the purview of
the JJDPA, as well as other grant programs that are administered by OJJDP but that are not within
the JJDPA. Examples of these types of non-JJDPA programs include the JABG program, the
Victims of Child Abuse Act grant, and Project Safe Start, which have sometimes been included in
different parts of the DOJ appropriation but nevertheless are tailored to juveniles and ¹¹
administered by OJJDP. From FY1999 to FY2002, overall funding for juvenile justice within
the DOJ appropriation remained relatively stable, averaging about $550 million annually. From
FY2002 to FY2007, however, overall juvenile justice funding fell by 38% to $348 million. The
majority of this reduction came from the JABG program. Appropriations for JABG fell from a
high of $250 million in FY2002 to $49 million in FY2007. In FY2008, the overall appropriation
for juvenile justice programs increased by 10% from FY2007 to $384 million. Funding for JJDPA
programs increased by 15%, from $260 million in FY2007 to $300 million in FY2008.

¹⁰^{42 U}^.^S.C^.^§¹³⁰²¹^-¹³⁰^24.
¹¹^Sa^f^e^Sta^r^{t f}^unds^a^r^a^ng^e^of^pr^oje^c^t^s^tha^t^e^x^a^m^ine^a^{nd a}^ddr^e^s^s^the^e^f^f^e^c^t^s^of^c^h^ildr^e^n’^s^e^x^pos^ur^e^t^o^vⁱ^o^l^eⁿ^c^e^a^nd
^prov^ide^se^rv^ic^e^s^{to m}^itig^a^t^e^those^e^f^f^e^c^t^s.

Figure 1. Juvenile Justice Appropriations
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279287265271299263260300in m

268270s (

200ar
202oll
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100
0
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
JJDPA ProgramsAll Programs Administered by OJJDP
^Sources:^Amount^{for FY19}⁹⁸^e^{nacted taken}^{from H.Rept. 1}^05-⁴^{05; FY19}⁹⁹^{enacted tak}^{en f}^rom^{H.Rept. 105-}
^{825; FY2}⁰⁰^{0 e}^{nacted take}^{n from}^{H.Rept. 106-}⁶⁸^{0; FY20}^{01 e}^nacte^{d taken from}^{H.Rept. 10}^7-13^{9; F}^Y200^{2 ena}^cted
^{taken H.Rept. 1}^07-2^{78; FY2}⁰⁰^{3 e}^{nacted taken}^{from H.Rept. 1}^08-¹^{0; FY200}^{4 e}^{nacted take}^{n from H.}^{Rept. 108-}
^{401; FY2}⁰⁰^{5 e}^{nacted take}^{n from}^{H.Rept. 108-}⁷⁹^{2; FY20}^{06 e}^nacte^{d taken from}^{H.Rept. 10}^9-27^{2. FY200}⁷
^approp^{riation is based on FY20}⁰⁶^enacted^{minus a}^1.2^{8% re}^{scission, as per P.L. 11}^{0-5. FY20}⁰⁸^ena^{cted taken}
^{from P.L. 110-}^161.
^Notes:^{FY2007 ap}^{propriation is}^{based on FY20}⁰⁶^{enacted min}^us^{a 1.28}^{% rescission, as pe}^{r P.L. 11}^{0-5. Nu}^mber^s
^{are rounded. Ap}^{propriations for}^FY1998^{and FY1}⁹⁹^{9 may}^{not include relevant}^{rescissions. The am}^{ount for}
^FY2000^{includes a}^0.38^{% govern}^{ment-wide rescission as pe}^{r P.L. 106-}¹¹^{3; FY20}^{01 in}^{cludes a 0.2}²^%^governme^nt
^{wide rescission as per P.L. 1}^06-5^{54; FY20}⁰³^{includes a}^0.65^{% governme}^{nt-wide rescission pu}^rsuaⁿ^t^{to P.L. 108-7;}
^FY2004^includes^0.59%^governme^{nt-wide rescission and a 0.4}⁶⁵^%^{DOJ-wide rescission purs}^uant^{to P.L. 108-1}^99;
^FY2005^{includes a}^0.80^{% govern}^{ment-wide rescission and a}^0.54^{% DOJ-wide rescission pu}^rsua^nt^{to P.L. 108-44}^7;
^{and FY200}^{6 includes a}^1%^across^{the board re}^{scission pu}^rsua^{nt to}^{P.L. 109-1}^48.
In its FY2009 request, DOJ is proposing to reconfigure the current structure of the grant programs
within OJJDP by replacing the current legislatively mandated grant programs with one broad
discretionary grant program called the “Child Safety and Juvenile Justice Program.” The overall
request for this new juvenile justice grant program would be $185 million in FY2009. According

to the Administration, this new grant program will award funding “through a competitive grant ¹²
process” and will be used to support “state and local governments in addressing child safety and
juvenile justice needs through a single, flexible grant program to reduce incidents of child ¹³
exploitation and abuse, improve juvenile justice outcomes, and address school safety needs.”
This would seem to mark a step away from OJJDP’s current statutory focus on helping the states’
juvenile justice systems and providing funding for delinquency prevention measures. Instead,
DOJ is proposing what appears to be a broader focus that would include the allocation of some
juvenile justice funding to provide assistance for school safety and child abuse issues.
Table 1 provides a summary of juvenile justice appropriations by program. The programs ^st
appropriated for juvenile justice have varied somewhat from year to year. For example, the 21
Century Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-273), among other things,
repealed a number of pre-existing grant programs and consolidated many of their purpose areas ¹⁴
within the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Block Grant. As t he table shows,
however, this block grant has not been appropriated since its inception. Instead, the appropriators
have continued to fund some of the pre-existing grant programs (chiefly, the Victims of Child
Abuse, Gang-Free Schools and Communities Grant, and Juvenile Mentoring Programs grants)
either as separate line-items or as carve-outs within the Title V Community Prevention Grants.
Additionally, some funding administered by OJJDP is appropriated in other accounts within DOJ,
including funding for the Safe Start program appropriated within the Office for Violence Against
Women. Table 1 also shows that appropriations for specific programs can vary from year to year
and that some programs are specifically appropriated in one year but may not be specifically ¹⁵
identified in other years, such as Project Sentry and Project Child Safe, which have received
stand-alone appropriations some fiscal years and have been carved-out from the Title V grant
program in other years. Some programs are carved out of larger accounts; for example, OJJDP’s ¹⁶
Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws has received an annual carve-out of $25 million from the
Title V grant program every year since FY1999. The program does not appear on the table
because it has never received a stand-alone appropriation.

¹²^U^.^{S. D}^e^pa^r^t^m^e^{nt of}^J^u^s^tic^e^,^D^e^par^tm^eⁿ^{t o}^f^J^u^s^tic^e^FY²⁰⁰⁹^Co^ngr^e^s^sⁱ^onal^Bu^dge^{t J}^u^s^t^ific^ati^oⁿ^,^p.^OJP^-¹⁰^7.
^He^re^a^f^te^{r re}^f^e^rr^e^d^{to a}^s^{DOJ FY2}⁰⁰⁹^Justif^ic^a^tion.
¹³^D^O^J^FY²⁰^{09 J}^u^s^tif^ic^a^tion,^{p. O}^J^P^-^{3 a}ⁿ^d^10.
¹⁴^T^h^e^s^e^g^r^aⁿ^{t pr}^og^r^a^m^s^w^e^r^e^a^s^f^o^l^l^ow^s^:^Vic^tim^s^of^C^h^{ild A}^bus^e^;^C^o^m^m^unit^y^B^a^s^e^d^G^a^ng^Iⁿ^te^r^v^eⁿ^{tion; T}^r^iba^l^Y^o^uth^;
^J^u^v^e^nile^Me^ntor^ing^P^r^og^r^a^m^s^{; a}^{nd B}^o^{ot C}^a^m^p^s^g^r^aⁿ^{t pr}^og^r^a^m^s^.
¹⁵^P^r^oje^c^t^Se^ntry^prov^ide^d^re^so^urc^e^s^f^o^{r sta}^t^e^a^{nd loc}^a^l^j^u^v^eⁿ^ile^justⁱ^c^e^prose^c^u^{tors t}^o^f^uⁿ^dⁱⁿ^itia^tiv^e^s^foc^u^sing^oⁿ^g^uⁿ^-
^c^r^im^e^s^c^o^m^m^itte^{d by}^juv^e^nile^s^.^Proje^c^t^Chil^ds^a^f^e^s^e^ek^s^{to e}^duc^a^t^e^c^h^ildreⁿ^on^fⁱ^re^a^r^m^s^a^f^e^t^y^a^{nd f}^{und the}^purc^h^a^s^e^of
^safet^y^lo^ck^s^f^o^{r f}ⁱ^re^ar^m^s^.
¹⁶^T^h^is^pr^og^r^a^m^s^uppor^ts^e^f^f^o^r^t^s^by^Sta^t^e^s^{, in c}^o^o^p^e^r^a^tion^w^{ith loc}^a^l^j^u^rⁱ^s^d^ic^ti^ons^,^to^pr^o^hⁱ^b^{it t}^h^e^s^a^le^o^f^a^l^c^oholic
^be^v^e^r^a^ge^s^{to or}^t^h^e^c^ons^um^ption^of^a^l^c^oholic^be^v^e^r^a^ge^s^by^mⁱ^nor^s^.

Table 1. Juvenile Justice Appropriations by Program, FY2000-FY2007
^{($ mill}^ions)
^Progr^am^FY20^{01 FY20}^{02 FY20}^{03 FY20}^{04 FY20}^{05 FY20}^{06 FY20}^{07 FY20}⁰⁸
^Part^A:^Coordinati^on^{7 7 7 4 3 1 1 1}
^{Part B: State Formula}^{89 89 84 84 84 80 79 74}
^Grants
^{Part C: Delinquency}⁵⁰⁵⁹⁸⁹^{— — — — —}
^{Prevention Block}
^Grant
^{Part D: Community}¹²¹²¹²^{(20) (25) (25) (25) (19)}
^{Gang Preve}^ntion
^{Part E: Challenge}^{10 10 10 80}¹⁰²¹⁰⁶¹⁰⁵⁹⁴
^Grants
^{Part G: Juve}^nile^{16 16 16 —}^{15 10 10 70}
^{Mentoring Program}
^Grant
^{Research a}^nd^{— — —}³¹⁰^{— — —}
^Development
^Delinquency^N/A^N/A^{— — — — — —}
^{Prevention Block}
^Grant
^{Title V}^:^Community^{95 94 47 80 80 65 64 61}
^{Prevention Gra}^nt
^Secure^our^Sc^hools^Act⁽¹⁵⁾⁽¹⁵⁾^—^{10 15 15 15 15}
^{Juvenile Accou}^ntability²⁵⁰²⁵⁰¹⁹⁰^{60 55 50 49 52}
^{Block Grant}
^{Victims of Child Abuse}⁹⁸^{11 13 15 15 15 17}
^Act
^{Drug Preve}^ntion¹¹¹¹^{— — — — — —}
^Program
^Project^Sentry^—⁽⁵⁾⁽⁵⁾¹⁵^{— — — —}
^Project^Child^Safe^—⁽³⁸⁾⁽²⁵⁾^{5 5 1 1}^—
^Project^Safe^Start^{10 10 10 10 10 10 10 —}
^{Total Juvenile}^{559 565 475 363 394 353 348 384}
^Justice
^Appr^opriation
^Sources:^FY20^{00 e}^{nacted take}ⁿ^{from H.Rept. 10}^6-6^{80; FY2}⁰⁰^{1 e}^{nacted taken}^{from H.Rept. 1}^07-¹^{39; FY20}⁰²
^{enacted taken}^{H.Rept. 10}^7-2^{78; F}^Y200^{3 ena}^{cted taken}^{from H.Rep}^{t. 108-1}^{0; FY20}⁰⁴^{enacted take}ⁿ^{from H.Rept.}
^108-⁴⁰^{1; FY20}^{05 e}^{nacted take}^{n f}^{rom H.Rept. 10}^8-79^{2; FY20}⁰⁶^en^{acted taken f}^{rom H.Rept. 10}^9-2⁷^{2. FY200}⁷
^approp^{riation is based on FY20}⁰⁶^enacted^{minus a}^1.2^{8% re}^{scission, as per P.L. 11}^{0-5. FY20}⁰⁸^ena^{cted taken f}^rom
^{P.L. 110-1}^{61. This table does not}^{include rescissions, and n}^umbe^rs^{in pare}^nthese^{s are}^{non-adds that}^{have be}^{en ca}^rved
^{out of other gra}^{nt p}^rograms.

^B^l^as^Nuñ^ez-^Ne^to
^An^al^y^s^{t i}ⁿ^Do^m^e^{stic Sec}^u^rⁱ^t^y
^bn^un^ezn^et^o^@^crs^.^l^o^c.g^o^v^,^7-⁰⁶²²