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Juvenile Justice Funding Trends
Kristin M. Finklea
Analyst in Domestic Security
April 9, 2009June 14, 2011
Congressional Research Service
7-5700
www.crs.gov
RS22655
CRS Report for Congress
Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress
c11173008
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Juvenile Justice Funding Trends
Summary
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 from FY2002 levels by 38% to $348
million to FY2007, then increased to $384 in FY2008. For FY2009, juvenile justice funding
within DOJ declined to $374 millionThe 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.
For FY2010, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010 (P.L. 111-117) provided $424 million for
juvenile justice programs within DOJ. This was the largest amount appropriated to juvenile
justice programs since FY2003. After the restructuring of juvenile justice grant programs in 2002,
their funding, which had generally been above $500 million, began to decline.
For FY2011, the Department of Defense and Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011 (P.L.
112-10) provides $275 million for juvenile justice programs. Under this act, funds appropriated
for DOJ’s Juvenile Justice Programs account cannot be used to fund the JJDPA Part E grants
because these grants are funded through earmarks. The act also requires the reduction in funding
for this account to be applied proportionately to each program funded under the account in
FY2010. After removing earmarked funding from the FY2010-enacted amount, CRS calculates
that each grant program funded under the FY2011 juvenile justice account is reduced by 17.0%
relative to the FY2010-enacted amount. From that, the 0.2% across-the-board rescission, as
outlined by P.L. 112-10, is applied.
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Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................................................1
Juvenile Justice Legislation and Grant Programs .........................................................................1
State Formula Grant ..............................................................................................................1
Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Block Grant Program.........................................................2
Part E: Developing, Testing, and Demonstrating Promising newNew Initiatives and
Programs (Challenge Grants) .............................................................................................2
Juvenile Mentoring Program .................................................................................................2
Gang-Free Schools and Communities Grant ..........................................................................2
Title V Community Prevention Block Grants................Incentive Grants for Local Delinquency Prevention .........................................................2
Victims of Child Abuse Act Grant .........................................................................................3
Juvenile Accountability Block Grants (JABG).......................................................................3
Juvenile Justice Appropriations ...................................................................................................3
Historical Appropriations by Account....................................................................................4
Figures
Figure 1. Juvenile Justice Appropriations ....................................................................................4
Tables
Table 1. Juvenile Justice Appropriations by Program, FY2001-FY2009FY2011 .......................................65
Contacts
Author Contact Information ........................................................................................................7
Acknowledgments ......................................................................................................................7
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Juvenile Justice Funding Trends
Introduction
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 the Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) Office of Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP).
Juvenile Justice Legislation and Grant Programs
The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) was first passed by Congress in
19741 and was most recently reauthorized in 2002 by the 21st Century Department of Justice
Appropriations Authorization Act.2 The JJDPA’s provisions are currently unauthorized, having
expired in FYs 2007 and 2008. 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 feature the same three components.3
The following section outlines various juvenile justice grant programs. With two exceptions
(outlined below), these grant programs are authorized by the JJDPA.
State Formula Grant
The JJDPA authorizes 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 delinquency programs and improved juvenile justice systems.4 Funds
are allocated annually among the states on the basis of relative population of people under the age
of 18, and states must adhere to certain core mandates 5 in order to be eligible for funding.
Authorization for this program expired in FY2007.
1
P.L. 90-415.
P.L. 107-273.
3
For more information on the legislative history of juvenile justice, refer to CRS Report RL33947, Juvenile Justice:
Legislative History and Current Legislative Issues, by Blas Nuñez-NetoKristin M. Finklea.
4
42 U.S.C. §5631.
5
There are currently four core mandates with which – unless for specified exceptions – states must generally comply:
states must deinstitutionalize their status offenders (such as truants); states cannot detain or confine juveniles in
facilities in which they would have contact with adult inmates; juveniles cannot be detained or confined in any jail or
lockup for adults; and states must show that they are working to address the issue of disproportionate minority
confinement within their juvenile justice systems.
2
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Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Block Grant Program
ThisThe Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Block Grant Program is a discretionary grant program that
replaced a number of smaller grant programs in the
most recent JJDPA reauthorization. The
program authorizes OJJDP to make funding available to
carry out a broad range of activities in
purpose areas designed to prevent juvenile delinquency.6 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, and the authorization for this program expired in FY2007.
Part E: Developing, Testing, and Demonstrating Promising newNew
Initiatives and Programs (Challenge Grants)
The Challenge Grants program authorizes OJJDP to make grants to state, local, and Indiantribal
governments and private entities in order to carry out programs that will develop, test, or
demonstrate promising new initiatives that may prevent, control, or reduce juvenile delinquency.7
Authorization for this program expired in FY2007.
Juvenile Mentoring Program
This grant program was repealed in 2002 by the 21st 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.
Gang-Free Schools and Communities Grant
The Gang-Free Schools and Communities Grant program was repealed in 2002 by the 21st
Century Department of Justice Reauthorization Act (P.L. 107-273); however, funding for gang
resistance education and training has continued to receive appropriations in each subsequent fiscal
fiscal year. These grants are used to fund a wide variety of prevention or accountability based gang
gang projects. Currently, funding is included as a part of appropriations for the Title V Community
Community Prevention Block Grants.
Title V Community Prevention Block Grants
The Community Prevention Block GrantIncentive Grants for Local Delinquency Prevention
The Title V Incentive Grants for Local Delinquency Prevention program8 authorizes OJJDP to
make grants to states,
that are then transmitted to units of local government, in order to carry out delinquency
delinquency prevention programs for juveniles who have come into contact with, or are likely to
come into
contact with, the juvenile justice system. Authorization for this program expired in
FY2008.
6
42 U.S.C. §5651.
42 U.S.C. §5665.
8
42 U.S.C. §5781-5784.
7
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Juvenile Justice Funding Trends
Victims of Child Abuse Act Grant
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
improve the way state juvenile justice systems handle cases of child abuse and neglect.9 This
program has been unauthorized since FY2005 but has continued to receive appropriations.
Juvenile Accountability Block Grants (JABG)
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
JABG program was subsequently codified by the 21st Century Department of Justice
Reauthorization Act (P.L. 107-273).10 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
justice justice
systems and foster accountability within their juvenile populations by holding juveniles
accountable for their actions. Authorizations11 Authorization for this program expireexpired in FY2009.
Juvenile Justice Appropriations
Figure 1 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 and the Victims of Child Abuse
Act grant, which have sometimes been included in different parts of the DOJ appropriation but
nevertheless are tailored to juveniles and administered by OJJDP.
From FY1999FY2000 to FY2002, overall funding for juvenile justice within the DOJ appropriation
remained relatively stable, averaging about $550555 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 about 10% from FY2007 to $384 million. Funding for JJDPA
programs increased by about 15%, from $260 million in FY2007 to $300 million in FY2008. In
FY2009, the overall appropriation for juvenile justice programs decreased by about 2.5% to $374
million. Funding for JJDPA programs decreased slightly to $299 million in FY2009Between FY2007 and
FY2010, funding for juvenile justice programs increased by almost 22% to $424 million in
FY2010. During this time, funding for JJDPA programs increased by $27% from $260 million in
FY2007 to $331 million in FY2010.
For FY2011, the Department of Defense and Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011 (P.L.
112-10) provides $275 million for DOJ’s juvenile justice programs. Of these funds, $199 million
is for JJDPA programs.
9
42 U.S.C. §13021-13024.
JABG was codified within the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796ee).
10
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Juvenile Justice Funding Trends
Figure 1. Juvenile Justice Appropriations
FY1998 – FY2009
600
557 565
Dollars (in millions)
500
499
535
545
475
400
359 389 349 348 384 374
300
299
279 287
263
268 270
265 271
200
260
300 299
202
100
0
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
JJDPA Programs
All Programs Administered by OJJDP
Sources: Amount for FY1998 enacted taken from H.Rept. 105-405; FY1999 enacted taken from H.Rept. 105825;
11
The only core mandate of the JABG program is that states must begin to implement a system of graduated sanctions
in order to be eligible for funding.
10
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Juvenile Justice Funding Trends
Figure 1. Juvenile Justice Appropriations
FY2000-FY2011
Dollars (in millions)
600
500
400
300
200
100
20
00
20
01
20
02
20
03
20
04
20
05
20
06
20
07
20
08
20
09
20
10
20
11
0
JJDPA Programs
All Programs Administered by OJJDP
Sources: FY2000 enacted taken from H.Rept. 106-680; FY2001 enacted taken from H.Rept. 107-139; FY2002 enacted
enacted taken H.Rept. 107-278; FY2003 enacted taken from H.Rept. 108-10; FY2004 enacted taken from H.Rept. 108401
108-401; FY2005 enacted taken from H.Rept. 108-792; FY2006 enacted taken from H.Rept. 109-272. FY2007
appropriation is based on FY2006 enacted minus a 1.28% rescission, as per P.L. 110-5. FY2008 enacted taken
from P.L. 110-161. FY2009 enacted taken from P.L. 111-8.
Notes: Numbers are rounded. Appropriations for FY1998 and FY1999 may not include relevant rescissions. The
FY2010 enacted taken from P.L. 111-117. FY2011
enacted amounts are based on a CRS analysis of the text of P.L. 112-10.
Notes: Numbers are rounded. The amount for FY2000 includes a 0.38% government-wide rescission as per P.L.
106-113; FY2001 includes a 0.22%
government wide rescission as per P.L. 106-554; FY2003 includes a 0.65%
government-wide rescission pursuant
to P.L. 108-7; FY2004 includes 0.59% government-wide rescission and a
0.465% DOJ-wide rescission pursuant to
P.L. 108-199; FY2005 includes a 0.80% government-wide rescission and
a 0.54% DOJ-wide rescission pursuant to
P.L. 108-447; and FY2006 includes a 1% across the board rescission
pursuant to P.L. 109-148; and FY2011 includes a 0.20% government-wide rescission pursuant to P.L. 112-10.
Historical Appropriations by Account
Table 1 provides a summary of juvenile justice appropriations by program. The programs
appropriated for juvenile justice have varied somewhat from year to year. For example, the 21st
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
within the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Block Grant.11 Program.12 As the table shows,
however,
this block grant has not been appropriated since its inception. Instead, the appropriators
have have
continued to fund some of the pre-existing grant programs (chiefly, the Victims of Child
11 Abuse,
Gang-Free Schools and Communities Grant, and Juvenile Mentoring Programs grants) either as
separate line-items or with funding set aside from the Title V Incentive Grants for Local
Delinquency Prevention.
12
These grant programs were as follows: Victims of Child Abuse; Community Based Gang Intervention; Tribal Youth;
Juvenile Mentoring Programs; and Boot Camps grant programs.
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Abuse, Gang-Free Schools and Communities Grant, and Juvenile Mentoring Programs grants)
either as separate line-items or with funding set aside from the Title V Community Prevention
Grants.
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 identified in
other years, such as Project Sentry and Project Child Safe,1213 which have received stand-alone
appropriations some fiscal years and have been set aside from the Title V grant Incentive Grants
program in other
years. SomeIn addition, some programs receive funding from larger accounts; for
example, OJJDP’s Enforcing
Underage Drinking Laws13Laws14 has received an appropriation of $25
million set aside 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
In FY2010, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010 (P.L. 111-117) provided funding for a new
juvenile justice initiative, the Community-Based Violence Initiative, as requested by the
Administration. This initiative is aimed at reducing violence—particularly gun violence—through
community-based strategies such as street-level outreach, conflict mediation, and changing
community norms.15
For FY2011, the Department of Defense and Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011 (P.L.
112-10) provides $275 million for juvenile justice programs. Under this act, funds appropriated
for DOJ’s Juvenile Justice Programs account cannot be used to fund the JJDPA Part E grants
because these grants are funded through earmarks. The act also requires the reduction in funding
for this account to be applied proportionately to each program funded under the account in
FY2010. After removing earmarked funding from the FY2010-enacted amount, CRS calculates
that each grant program funded under the FY2011 juvenile justice account is reduced by 17.0%
relative to the FY2010-enacted amount. From that, the 0.2% across-the-board rescission, as
outlined by P.L. 112-10, is applied.
Table 1. Juvenile Justice Appropriations by Program, FY2001-FY2011
(Dollars in millions)
Program
FY2001
FY2002
FY2003
FY2004
FY2005
FY2006
FY2007
FY2008
FY2009
FY2010
FY2011
Part A:
Coordination
7
7
7
4
3
1
1
1
—
—
—
Part B: State
Formula Grants
89
89
84
84
84
80
79
74
75
75
62
Part C:
Delinquency
Prevention
Block Grant
50
59
89
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
13
Project Sentry provided resources for state and local juvenile justice prosecutors to fund initiatives focusing on guncrimes committed by juveniles. Project Child Safe sought to educate children on firearm safety and fund the purchase
of safety locks for firearms.
1314
This program supports efforts by States, in cooperation with local jurisdictions, to prohibit the sale of alcoholic
beverages to or the consumption of alcoholic beverages by minors. Another program that does not appear on the chart
is the Tribal Youth Program. It receives annual funding set aside from the Title V grant program and is currently
funded at $25 million for FY2009. It began receiving appropriations in FY1999, and through this program, OJJDP
makes grants to federally recognized tribes and Alaska Native villages for delinquency prevention, control, and system
improvements for tribal youth.
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Table 1. Juvenile Justice Appropriations by Program, FY2001-FY2009
($ millions)
Program
FY2001
FY2002
FY2003
FY2004
FY2005
FY2006
FY2007
FY2008
FY2009
Part A:
Coordination
7
7
7
4
3
1
1
1
—
Part B: State
Formula Grants
89
89
84
84
84
80
79
74
75
Part C:
Delinquency
Prevention
Block Grant
50
59
89
—
—
—
—
—
—
15
For more information, see U.S. Department of Justice, FY2010 Performance Budget: Office of Justice Programs,
May 2009, http://www.justice.gov/jmd/2010justification/pdf/fy10-ojp.pdf.
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Program
FY2001
FY2002
FY2003
FY2004
FY2005
FY2006
FY2007
FY2008
FY2009
FY2010
FY2011
Part D:
Community
Gang
Prevention
12
12
12
(20)
(25)
(25)
(25)
(19)
(10)
(10)
(8.3)
Part E:
Challenge
Grants
10
10
10
80
102
106
105
94
82
91
—
Part G: Juvenile
Mentoring
Program Grant
16
16
16
—
15
10
10
70
80
100
83
Research and
Development
—
—
—
3
10
—
—
—
—
—
—
Delinquency
Prevention
Block Grant
N/A
N/A
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
Title V:
Community
Prevention
Grant
95
94
47
80
80
65
64
61
62
65
54
Secure our
Schools Act
(15)
(15)
—
10
15
15
15
15
—a
—
—
Juvenile
Accountability
Block Grant
250
250
190
60
55
50
49
52
55
55
46
Victims of Child
Abuse Act
9
8
11
13
15
15
15
17
20
23
19
Drug
Prevention
Program
11
11
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
Project Sentry
—
(5)
(5)
15
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
Project Child
Safe
—
(38)
(25)
5
5
1
1
—
—
—
—
Project Safe
Start
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
—
—
559
565
475
363
394
353
348
384
374
Total Juvenile
Justice
Appropriation
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4.1
CommunityBased Violence
Prevention
Initiative
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
10
8.2
Total Juvenile
Justice
Appropriation
559
565
475
363
394
353
348
384
374
424
275
Sources: FY2001 enacted taken from H.Rept. 107-139; FY2002 enacted taken H.Rept. 107-278; FY2003 enacted
taken from H.Rept. 108-10; FY2004 enacted taken from H.Rept. 108-401; FY2005 enacted taken from H.Rept. 108792; FY2006 enacted taken from H.Rept. 109-272. FY2007 appropriation is based on FY2006 enacted minus a 1.28%
rescission, as per P.L. 110-5. FY2008 enacted taken from P.L. 110-161. FY2009 enacted taken from P.L. 111-8.
Notes: This table does not include rescissions, and numbers FY2010
enacted taken from P.L. 111-117. FY2011 enacted amounts are based on a CRS analysis of the text of P.L. 112-10.
Notes: Numbers in parentheses are non-adds that have been set aside
from other grant programs.
a.
For FY2009
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a.
For FY2009 and FY2010, funding for programs under the Secure Our Schools Act was appropriated at $16 million
million under the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) account.
Author Contact Information
Kristin M. Finklea
Analyst in Domestic Security
kfinklea@crs.loc.gov, 7-6259
Acknowledgments
A previous version of this report was authored by Blas Nuñez-Neto.
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