Order Code RS22655
April 27, 2007
Juvenile Justice Funding Trends
Blas Nuñez-Neto
Analyst in Domestic Intelligence and Criminal Justice
Domestic Social Policy Division
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 has been reduced by 38% to $348 million from FY2002 to
FY2007. In FY2008, the President’s request would reduce juvenile justice funding
within DOJ by 17% to $280 million and consolidate all existing grant programs into one
broad discretionary grant program.
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 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 Unless otherwise noted, most
of the JJDPA’s provisions are currently authorized through FY2007. The JJDPA as
originally enacted had three main components: it created a set of institutions within the
1 P.L. 90-415.
2 P.L. 107-273.

CRS-2
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 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 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 mandates5
in order to be eligible for funding.
Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Block Grants. 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 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.
Part E: Developing, Testing, and Demonstrating Promising new
Initiatives and Programs (Challenge Grants). 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 demonstrate promising
new initiatives that may prevent, control, or reduce juvenile delinquency.7
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.
3 For more information on the legislative history of juvenile justice, refer to CRS Report
RL33097, Juvenile Justice: Legislative History and Current Legislative Issues, by Blas
Nuñez-Neto.
4 42 U.S.C. §5631.
5 There are currently four core mandates: 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 to 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.
6 42 U.S.C. §5651.
7 42 U.S.C. §5665.

CRS-3
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 “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.
Title V Community Prevention Block Grants. 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.
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).9 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 systems and foster accountability within their juvenile populations by
holding juveniles accountable for their actions. The program is authorized through
FY2008.
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.10 This program has been
unauthorized since FY2005 but has continued to receive appropriations.
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, 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 administered by OJJDP.11 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
8 42 U.S.C. §5781-5784.
9 JABG was codified within the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C.
3796ee).
10 42 U.S.C. §13021-13024.
11 Safe Start funds a range of projects that examine and address the effects of children’s exposure
to violence and provide services to mitigate those effects.

CRS-4
from the JABG program. Appropriations for JABG fell from a high of $250 million in
FY2002 to $49 million in FY2007. Funding for JJDPA programs have remained
relatively stable since FY1999, averaging $274 million a year over that nine fiscal year
span.
Figure 1. Juvenile Justice Appropriations
600
565
535
545
557
500
499
475
)
389
s 400
n
349
illio
359
348
m 300
in
(
rs

260
lla
268
270
279
287
265
271
299
263
o
D
200
202
100
0
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
Fiscal Year
JJDPA Programs
All Programs Administered by OJJDP
Sources: Amount for FY1998 enacted taken from H.Rept. 105-405; FY1999 enacted taken from
H.Rept.105-825; FY2000 enacted taken from H.Rept. 106-680; 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. 108-792; FY2006 enacted taken
from H.Rept. 109-272.
Notes: FY2007 appropriation is based on FY2006 enacted minus a 1.28% rescission, as per P.L. 110-5.
Numbers are rounded. Appropriations for FY1998 and FY1999 may not include relevant rescissions. 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.
President’s FY2008 Request. In its FY2008 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. The overall request for this new juvenile justice grant program would be $280

CRS-5
million in FY2008. According to the Administration, this new grant program “will award
funding through a competitive grant process (rather than formula-based awards
processes).”12 This competitive grant process will be used to “assist state and local
governments in addressing multiple child safety and juvenile justice needs to reduce
incidents of child exploitation and abuse, including those facilitated by the use of
computers and the Internet, improve juvenile justice outcomes, and address school safety
needs.”13 This would seem to mark a step away from the current focus of OJJDP on
helping states’ juvenile justice systems and providing funding for delinquency prevention
measures. Instead, DOJ is proposing that some juvenile justice funding be allocated to
provide assistance for states as they pursue child abuse and sex offender investigations.
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.14 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 identified
in other years, such as Project Sentry and Project Child Safe,15 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 Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws16 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. Department of Justice, Department of Justice FY2008 Congressional Budget Justification,
p. OJP-3. Hereafter referred to as DOJ FY2008 Justification.
13 DOJ FY2008 Justification, p. OJP-68.
14 These grant programs were as follows: Victims of Child Abuse; Community Based Gang
Intervention; Tribal Youth; Juvenile Mentoring Programs; and Boot Camps grant programs.
15 Project Sentry provided resources for state and local juvenile justice prosecutors to fund
initiatives focusing on gun-crimes committed by juveniles. Project Childsafe seeks to educate
children on firearm safety and fund the purchase of safety locks for firearms.
16 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.

CRS-6
Table 1. Juvenile Justice Appropriations by Program, FY2000-FY2007
($ millions)
Program
FY2000
FY2001
FY2002
FY2003
FY2004
FY2005
FY2006
FY2007
Part A: Coordination
7
7
7
7
4
3
1
1
Part B: State Formula Grants
89
89
89
84
84
84
80
79
Part C: Delinquency Prevention Block Grant
43
50
59
89




Part D: Community Gang Prevention
12
12
12
12
(20)
(25)
(25)
(25)
Part E: Challenge Grants
10
10
10
10
80
102
106
105
Part G: Juvenile Mentoring Program Grant
14
16
16
16

15
10
10
Research and Development




3
10


Delinquency Prevention Block Grant
N/A
N/A
N/A





Title V: Community Prevention Grant
95
95
94
47
80
80
65
64
Secure our Schools Act
(15)
(15)
(15)

10
15
15
15
Juvenile Accountability Block Grant
250
250
250
190
60
55
50
49
Victims of Child Abuse Act
7
9
8
11
13
15
15
15
Drug Prevention Program
11
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
10
Total Juvenile Justice Appropriation
547
559
565
475
363
394
353
348
Sources: FY2000 enacted taken from H.Rept. 106-680; 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. 108-792; FY2006 enacted taken
from H.Rept. 109-272.
Notes: FY2007 appropriation is based on FY2006 enacted minus a 1.28% rescission, as per P.L. 110-5. This table does not include rescissions, and
numbers in parentheses are non-adds that have been carved out of other grant programs.