FY2017 Appropriations for the Department of Justice Grant Programs

May 4, 2016 (R44430)
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Contents

Tables

Summary

Each year Congress provides funding for a variety of grant programs through the Department of Justice (DOJ). These programs provide funding to state, local, and tribal governments and nonprofit organizations for a variety of criminal justice-related purposes, such as programs to combat violence against women, reduce backlogs of DNA evidence, support community policing efforts, assist crime victims, promote prisoner reentry efforts, and improve the functioning of the juvenile justice system. Congress funds these programs through five accounts in the annual Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) appropriations act: Violence Against Women Programs; Research, Evaluation, and Statistics; State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance; Juvenile Justice Programs; and Community Oriented Policing Services.

For FY2017, the Administration requests a total of $2.361 billion for these five accounts. This includes $489 million for the Office on Violence Against Women (which includes a proposed $326 million transfer from the Crime Victims Fund); $154 million for Research, Evaluation, and Statistics; $1.098 billion for State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance; $334 million for Juvenile Justice Programs; and $286 million for Community Oriented Policing Services. The Administration's request for all of these accounts, with the exception of State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance, is greater than the FY2016 appropriation.

The Administration's FY2017 request for DOJ's grant accounts includes several significant proposals. First, the Administration proposes to transfer $326 million from the Crime Victims Fund to the Office on Violence Against Women. It also proposes to eliminate funding for the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (-$210 million), while proposing to reduce funding for other programs, such as the National Criminal History Improvement program (-$23 million), and DNA backlog reduction initiatives (-$20 million). However, the Administration also proposes increases for grants to encourage arrest policies (+$11 million), grants authorized under the Second Chance Act (+$32 million), and programs for children exposed to violence (+$15 million). In addition, it proposes restoring funding to the Juvenile Accountability Block Grant (+$30 million), a program that was eliminated after FY2013, along with funding a variety of new programs and initiatives, such as the Byrne Incentive Grant program ($10 million), the Byrne Competitive Grant program ($15 million), and the Violence Reduction Network ($5 million).

The FY2017 CJS appropriations bill reported by the Senate Committee on Appropriations (S. 2837) would provide a total of $2.270 billion for the five DOJ grant accounts. The committee-recommended funding for these five accounts is largely in line with the FY2016-enacted appropriation. The one notable exception is the State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance account, which the committee proposes funding at $1.184 billion, an amount that is 16.0% below the FY2016 appropriation. The committee also declined to provide any funding for any of the new grant programs proposed by the Administration.


FY2017 Appropriations for the Department of Justice Grant Programs

Each year Congress provides funding for a variety of grant programs through the Department of Justice (DOJ). These programs provide funding to state, local, and tribal governments and nonprofit organizations for a variety of criminal justice-related purposes, such as programs to combat violence against women, reduce backlogs of DNA evidence, support community policing efforts, assist crime victims, promote prisoner reentry efforts, and improve the functioning of the juvenile justice system. Congress funds these programs through five accounts in the annual Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) appropriations act: Violence Against Women Programs; Research, Evaluation, and Statistics; State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance; Juvenile Justice Programs; and Community Oriented Policing Services. This report provides an overview of congressional actions to fund DOJ's grant programs through these accounts for FY2017. The report also provides information on FY2016 appropriations for DOJ's grant programs.

Office on Violence Against Women (OVW)

The Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) was established to administer programs created under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 1994 and subsequent legislation. These programs provide financial and technical assistance to communities around the country to facilitate the creation of programs, policies, and practices designed to improve criminal justice responses related to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.

The Administration's FY2017 request for OVW is $489 million, 1.9% more than the FY2016 appropriation of $480 million. Of note, the Administration proposes transferring $326 million from the Crime Victims Fund to the OVW. The Administration's FY2017 request is mostly in line with the FY2016 appropriation, but it requests increases for grants to encourage arrest policies (+$11 million), civil legal assistance (+$8 million), grants to combat violence on college campuses (+$6 million), grants to combat abuse against the elderly (+$1 million), and grants to strengthen tribal justice systems so they can exert their jurisdiction over domestic violence cases (+$3 million). The Administration also proposes funding two new initiatives through set-asides from other grant programs: reducing firearm lethality in domestic violence cases and enhancing colleges' responses to instances of sexual assault. The Administration's request proposes reducing funding for Service-Training-Officers-Prosecutors Formula Grant (STOP) grants by $15 million.

The FY2017 CJS appropriations bill reported by the Senate Committee on Appropriations (S. 2837) would provide $482 million for OVW, of which $379 million would be derived from a transfer from the Crime Victims Fund. The committee largely followed the Administration's request, which, in turn, largely mirrored the FY2016 appropriations. However, the committee did not adopt the Administration's proposal to increase funding for grants to encourage arrest policies, civil legal assistance, grants to combat violence on college campuses, and grants to combat abuse against the elderly (the exception being grants to encourage arrest policies, which would receive a $2 million increase). The committee proposes funding nearly all of these programs at the FY2016-enacted level. The committee also rejected the Administration's proposal to reduce funding for STOP grants.

Table 1. Appropriations for Violence Against Women Programs, FY2016 and FY2017

Appropriations in millions of dollars

Program

FY2016 Enacted

FY2017 Request

FY2017 Senate committee-reported

FY2017 House Passed

FY2017 Enacted

STOP Grants

$215.0

$200.0

$215.0

 

 

Research and Evaluation on Violence Against Women

5.0

3.0

3.0

 

 

Transitional Housing Assistance

30.0

30.0

30.0

 

 

Grants to Encourage Arrest Policies

51.0

62.3

53.0

 

 

Homicide Reduction Initiative

(4.0)

(4.0)

(4.0)

 

 

Domestic Violence Firearm Lethality Reduction Initiative

(4.0)

(4.0)

 

 

Rural Domestic Violence and Child Abuse Enforcement Assistance Grants

34.0

34.0

35.0

 

 

Violence on College Campuses

20.0

26.0

20.0

 

 

Improving Campus Response to Sexual Assault

(8.0)

 

 

Civil Legal Assistance

45.0

52.5

45.0

 

 

Sexual Assault Victims Services

35.0

35.0

35.0

 

 

Elder Abuse Grant Program

5.0

6.3

5.0

 

 

Education and Training for Disabled Female Victims

6.0

6.0

6.0

 

 

Research on Violence Against Indian Women

1.0

1.0

1.0

 

 

Consolidated Youth Oriented Program

11.0

11.0

11.0

 

 

National Resource Center on Workplace Responses

0.5

0.5

0.5

 

 

Indian Country Sexual Assault Clearinghouse

0.5

0.5

0.5

 

 

Family Civil Justice Program

16.0

16.0

16.0

 

 

Tribal Special Domestic Violence Criminal Jurisdiction

2.5

5.0

4.0

 

 

Rape Survivor Child Custody Act

2.5

1.5

 

 

Total: OVW

480.0a

489.0b

481.5c

 

 

Source: The FY2016-enacted amounts were taken from the joint explanatory statement to accompany P.L. 114-113, printed in the December 17, 2015, Congressional Record (pp. H9732-H9759). FY2017-requested amounts were taken from the appendix to the Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2017. Senate committee-reported amounts were taken from S.Rept. 114-239.

Note: Amounts may not add to totals due to rounding.

a. This amount includes the $379 million transfer from the Crime Victims Fund to the Office on Violence Against Women per P.L. 113-114.

b. This amount includes $326 million the Administration proposes to move from the Crime Victims Fund to the Office on Violence Against Women.

c. This amount includes a proposed transfer of $379 million from the Crime Victims Fund to the Office on Violence Against Women.

Office of Justice Programs (OJP)

The Office of Justice Programs (OJP) manages and coordinates the National Institute of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Office of Victims of Crimes, Bureau of Justice Assistance, and related grant programs.

Research, Evaluation, and Statistics

The Research, Evaluation, and Statistics account (formerly the Justice Assistance account) funds the operations of the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the National Institute of Justice, among other things.

The Administration requests $154 million for this account for FY2017, a 32.8% increase over the FY2016 appropriation of $116 million. It requests increases in funding for the Bureau of Justice Statistics (+$17 million) and the National Institute of Justice (+$12 million). The Administration also proposes funding research on domestic radicalization as its own line item instead of a set-aside from the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program. It requests $10 million to collect and report nationwide incident-based crime statistics.

The Senate Committee on Appropriations recommends $118 million for the Research, Evaluation, and Statistics account. The committee declined to recommend funding for any of the new programs the Administration proposed under this account. The committee would largely fund programs under this account at FY2016-enacted levels.

Table 2. Appropriations for Research, Evaluation, and Statistics, FY2016 and FY2017

Appropriations in millions of dollars

Program

FY2016 Enacted

FY2017 Request

FY2017 Senate committee-reported

FY2017 House Passed

FY2017 Enacted

Bureau of Justice Statistics

$41.0

$58.0

$41.0

 

 

National Institute of Justice

36.0

48.0

36.0

 

 

Regional Information Sharing System

35.0

25.0

36.0

 

 

Evaluation Clearinghouse

3.0

 

 

Forensic Science Improvement

4.0

6.0

5.0

 

 

Domestic Radicalization Research

4.0

 

 

Incident-based Crime Statistics Program

10.0

 

 

Total: Research, Evaluation, and Statistics

116.0

154.0

118.0

 

 

Source: The FY2016-enacted amounts were taken from the joint explanatory statement to accompany P.L. 114-113, printed in the December 17, 2015, Congressional Record (pp. H9732-H9759). FY2017-requested amounts were taken from the appendix to the Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2017. Senate committee-reported amounts were taken from S.Rept. 114-239.

Notes: Amounts may not add to totals due to rounding.

State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance

The State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance account includes funding for a variety of grant programs to improve the functioning of state, local, and tribal criminal justice systems. Some examples of programs that have traditionally been funded under this account include the JAG program, the Drug Courts program, the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP), and DNA backlog reduction grants.

The FY2017 request for the State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance account is $1.098 billion, which would be 22.1% less than the FY2016 appropriation of $1.409 billion. The Administration proposes eliminating funding for the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP, -$210 million); the Paul Coverdell Forensic Sciences Improvement Program (-$14 million); grants to assist trafficking victims (-$45 million); the John R. Justice program, which helps with student loan forgiveness for attorneys in public service (-$2 million); and assistance for Indian tribes (-$30 million). However, it proposes to fund grants to assist trafficking victims with funds from the Crime Victims Fund. The Administration also proposes to use 7% of the funding under the State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance, Juvenile Justice Programs, and Research, Evaluation, and Statistics accounts to support tribal justice programs. In addition, it proposes reducing funding for the JAG program (-$93 million, though this is largely the result of eliminating the set-aside for security at the Presidential Nominating Conventions), the National Criminal History Improvement program (-$23 million), and DNA backlog reduction initiatives (-$20 million).

While the Administration proposes eliminating or reducing funding for several programs under the State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance account, it has also proposed increasing funding for programs like reentry initiatives authorized under the Second Chance Act (+$32 million), programs for children exposed to violence (+$15 million), grants for residential substance abuse treatment (+$2 million) and programs to assist people with mental illness in the criminal justice system (+$4 million).

In addition, the Administration requests funding for several new programs under the State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance account, including

The Senate Committee on Appropriations recommends $1.184 billion for the State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance account. The amount recommended by the committee would be $86 million (+7.8%) more than the Administration's request, but $225 million (-16.0%) less than the FY2016-enacted appropriation.

The committee rejected the Administration's proposal to eliminate funding for SCAAP, the Paul Coverdell Forensic Sciences Improvement Program, and grants to assist trafficking victims. The committee also chose not to fund any of the new programs for which the Administration requested funding.

The committee-reported bill includes proposed cuts to several programs. For example, the committee proposes reducing funding for JAG (-$92 million) and SCAAP (-$110 million). It would also eliminate funding for the Prison Rape Prevention and Prosecution (-$11 million) and tribal assistance (-$30 million) programs. However, the committee adopted the Administration's proposal to use 7% of the funding under the State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance, Juvenile Justice Programs, and Research, Evaluation, and Statistics accounts to support tribal justice programs.

The committee proposes increasing funding for some programs, including drugs courts (+$1 million), prescription drug monitoring (+$1 million), grants under the Second Chance Act (+$7 million), the Mentally Ill Offenders Act (+$1 million), the National Criminal History Improvement program (+$2 million), residential substance abuse treatment (+$2 million), grants to combat economic, cyber, and high tech crime (+$1 million), and victims of trafficking grants (+$3 million).

Table 3. Appropriations for State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance, FY2016 and FY2017

Appropriations in millions of dollars

Program

FY2016 Enacted

FY2017 Request

FY2017 Senate committee-reported

FY2017 House Passed

FY2017 Enacted

Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants (JAG)

$476.0

$383.5

$384.0

 

 

State and Local Anti-terrorism training

(2.0)

 

 

State and Local Help Desk and Diagnostic Center

(2.0)

 

 

Countering Violent Extremism Training and Technical Assistance

(2.0)

 

 

Bulletproof Vest Grants Program

(22.5)

 

 

Improving Police Response to People with Mental Illness

(7.5)

(5.0)

 

 

VALOR Initiative

(15.0)

(15.0)

(15.0)

 

 

Evidence-based Policing Initiative

(5.0)

(20.0)

(10.0)

 

 

Prosecutorial Decision-making Initiative

(2.5)

(5.0)

(2.5)

 

 

Domestic Radicalization Research

(4.0)

 

 

Security at Presidential Nominating Conventions

(100.0)

 

 

National Missing and Unidentified Persons System

(2.4)

(2.4)

 

 

Firearms Safety and Gun Locks

(1.0)

 

 

Byrne Incentive Grant Program

10.0

 

 

Byrne Competitive Grants

15.0

 

 

Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation Program

24.0a

 

 

John R. Justice Grant Program

2.0

2.0

 

 

Tribal Assistance

30.0

 

 

State Criminal Alien Assistance Program

210.0

100.0

 

 

Victims of Trafficking Grants

45.0

47.6

 

 

Residential Substance Abuse Treatment

12.0

14.0

14.0

 

 

Mentally Ill Offenders Act

10.0

14.0

11.0

 

 

Drug Courts

42.0

42.0

43.0

 

 

Veterans' Treatment Courts

6.0

6.0

6.0

 

 

Prescription Drug Monitoring

13.0

12.0

14.0

 

 

Prison Rape Prevention and Prosecution

10.5

10.5

 

 

Capital Litigation/ Wrongful Conviction Review

2.5

2.0

2.5

 

 

Economic, High-tech and Cybercrime Prevention

13.0

15.0

14.0

 

 

IP Enforcement

(2.5)

 

 

Cybercrime Prosecutor Pilot Program

(1.0)

 

 

CASA-Special Advocates

9.0

6.0

9.0

 

 

Second Chance Act

68.0

100.0

75.0

 

 

Smart Probation

(6.0)

(10.0)

(6.0)

 

 

Children of Incarcerated Parents Demonstration Grants

(5.0)

(5.0)

(5.0)

 

 

Pay for Success

(7.5)

(20.0)

(7.5)

 

 

Project HOPE

(4.0)

(4.0)

 

 

Permanent Supportive Housing Model

(5.0)

(10.0)

 

 

Improve Law Enforcement's Response to Children and Families

(1.3)

 

 

Project HOPE

10.0b

 

 

Justice Reinvestment Initiative

30.0a

 

 

Violent Gang and Gun Crime Reduction (Project Safe Neighborhoods)

6.5

5.0

6.5

 

 

National Criminal History Improvement

73.0

50.0

75.0

 

 

NICS Improvements Act

(25.0)

(25.0)

 

 

NICS Improvements Act

5.0

 

 

Paul Coverdell Forensic Science Grants

13.5

13.5

 

 

Implementation of the Adam Walsh Act

20.0

20.0

20.0

 

 

Programs for Children Exposed to Violence

8.0

23.0

8.0

 

 

National Sex Offender Public Website

1.0

1.0

1.0

 

 

Bulletproof Vests Grant Program

22.5

c

22.5

 

 

DNA Initiatives

125.0

105.0

125.0

 

 

DNA Analysis and Capacity Enhancement

(117.0)

(117.0)

 

 

Post-conviction DNA Testing Grants

(4.0)

(4.0)

 

 

Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners

(4.0)

(4.0)

 

 

Grants to reduce sexual assault kit backlogs

(20.0)

 

 

Grants for Community Teams to Reduce the Sexual Assault Kit Backlog

45.0

41.0

45.0

 

 

Comprehensive School Safety Initiative

75.0

75.0

75.0

 

 

Community Trust Initiative

70.0

70.0

 

 

Body Worn Camera Partnership Initiative

(22.5)

(22.5)

 

 

Justice Reinvestment Initiative

(27.5)

(25.0)

 

 

Research and Statistics on Community Trust

(5.0)

(5.0)

 

 

Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation Program

(15.0)

(17.5)

 

 

National Crime Statistics Exchange

(5.0)

 

 

Indigent Defense

5.4

 

 

Grants for Civil Legal Aid

5.0

 

 

Program to Promote Fairness in the Criminal Justice System and Build Community Trust

20.0

 

 

Grants for Body-worn Cameras

30.0a

 

 

Implement the FBI's Next Generation Identification Program

5.0

 

 

National Missing and Unidentified Persons System

2.4d

 

 

Countering Domestic Violent Extremism

6.0

 

 

Violence Reduction Network

5.0

 

 

Total: State and Local Law Enforcement

1,408.5

1,097.8

1,183.6

 

 

Source: The FY2016-enacted amounts were taken from the joint explanatory statement to accompany P.L. 114-113, printed in the December 17, 2015, Congressional Record (pp. H9732-H9759). FY2017-requested amounts were taken from the appendix to the Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2017. Senate committee-reported amounts were taken from S.Rept. 114-239.

Note: Amounts may not add to totals due to rounding.

a. For FY2016, this program was funded under the Community Trust Initiative.

b. For FY2016, this program was funded as a set-aside from grants for the Second Chance Act.

c. The Administration proposes funding this program as a set-aside from the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program.

d. For FY2016, this program was funded as a set-aside from the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program.

Juvenile Justice Programs

The Juvenile Justice Programs account includes funding for grant programs to reduce juvenile delinquency and help state, local, and tribal governments improve the functioning of their juvenile justice systems.

For FY2017, the Administration requests $334.4 million for the Juvenile Justice Programs account, a 23.8% increase over the FY2016 appropriation of $270.2 million. The Administration's FY2017 request includes proposals to increase funding for the Part B formula grants program (+$17 million), Title V grants (+$24.5 million), and the Community-based Violence Prevention Initiative (+$10 million). The Administration is also requesting that funding be restored to the Juvenile Accountability Block Grants ($30 million), which were eliminated after FY2013. In addition, it requests $20 million for a Smart on Juvenile Justice Initiative, which would provide supplemental incentive grant awards to foster better outcomes for system-involved youth. The Administration did propose to reduce funding for youth mentoring grants (-$32 million), investigation and prosecution of child abuse programs (-$9 million), and the missing and exploited children program (-$5.2 million).

S. 2837 would provide $272 million for the Juvenile Justice Programs account, nearly identical to the FY2016-enacted appropriation ($270 million). As with other DOJ grant accounts, the committee declined to recommend funding for any of the Administration's proposed new grant programs. The committee would fund many of the programs under this account at the FY2016-enacted level. The notable exceptions are proposed increases for Part B formula grants (+$5 million) and Title V grants (+$10 million). The committee also recommended reducing funding for juvenile mentoring programs by $15 million.

Table 4. Appropriations for Juvenile Justice Programs, FY2016 and FY2017

Appropriations in millions of dollars

Program

FY2016 Enacted

FY2017 Request

FY2017 Senate committee-reported

FY2017 House Passed

FY2017 Enacted

Part B—State Formula

$58.0

$75.0

$63.0

 

 

Emergency Planning—Juvenile Detention Facilities

(0.5)

(0.5)

 

 

Youth Mentoring Grants

90.0

58.0

75.0

 

 

Title V—Delinquency Prevention Grants

17.5

42.0

27.5

 

 

Tribal Youth

(10.0)

(10.0)

 

 

Gang Prevention

(5.0)

(5.0)

 

 

Children of Incarcerated Parents Web Portal

(0.5)

(0.5)

 

 

Girls in the Justice System

(2.0)

(2.0)

 

 

Juvenile Justice and Education Collaboration Assistance

(10.0)

 

 

Investigation and Prosecution of Child Abuse Programs

20.0

11.0

21.0

 

 

Community-based Violence Prevention Initiative

8.0

18.0

8.0

 

 

Child Abuse Training for Judicial Personnel

2.0

1.5

2.0

 

 

Missing and Exploited Children Programs

72.2

67.0

73.0

 

 

Improving Juvenile Indigent Defense Program

2.5

5.4

2.5

 

 

Juvenile Justice Accountability Block Grants

30.0

 

 

Smart on Juvenile Justice Initiative

20.0

 

 

National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention

4.0

 

 

Children of Incarcerated Parents Web Portal

0.5a

 

 

Girls in the Justice System

2.0a

 

 

Total: Juvenile Justice Programs

270.2

334.4

272.0

 

 

Source: The FY2016-enacted amounts were taken from the joint explanatory statement to accompany P.L. 114-113, printed in the December 17, 2015, Congressional Record (pp. H9732-H9759). FY2017-requested amounts were taken from the appendix to the Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2017. Senate committee-reported amounts were taken from S.Rept. 114-239.

Note: Amounts may not add to totals due to rounding.

a. For FY2016, this program was funded as a set-aside from the Title V Grant program.

Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS)

The Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Office awards grants to state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies throughout the United States so they can hire and train law enforcement officers to participate in community policing, purchase and deploy new crime-fighting technologies, and develop and test new and innovative policing strategies.

The Administration's FY2017 request for COPS is $74 million (34.9%) more than the FY2016 appropriation of $212 million. The Administration requests a $42 million increase in funding for the COPS hiring program. It would also establish the Tribal Resources Grant program and training and technical assistance on COPS's collaborative reform model as separate line items in the account rather than set-asides from the funding for the hiring program.

The Senate Committee on Appropriations recommends a $3 million increase for the COPS account for FY2017, all of which was directed to a proposed increase in funding for anti-heroin task forces. Otherwise, the committee recommends providing funding for programs under this account at the FY2016-enacted level.

Table 5. Appropriations for Community Oriented Policing Services, FY2016 and FY2017

Appropriations in millions of dollars

Program

FY2016 Enacted

FY2017 Request

FY2017 Senate committee-reported

FY2017 House Passed

FY2017 Enacted

COPS Hiring Program

$187.0

$229.0

$187.0

 

 

Transfer to the Tribal Resources Grant Program

(30.0)

(15.0)

(30.0)

 

 

Community Policing Development

(10.0)

(20.0)

(10.0)

 

 

Training and Technical Assistance on the Collaborative Reform Model

(10.0)

(10.0)

 

 

Promoting Diversity in Policing

(5.0)

 

 

Transfer to the Drug Enforcement Administration for Methamphetamine Lab Clean-up

11.0

11.0

11.0

 

 

Anti-methamphetamine Task Forces

7.0

7.0

 

 

Anti-heroin Task Forces

7.0

10.0

 

 

Training and Technical Assistance on the Collaborative Reform Model

20.0

 

 

Combatting Violent Extremism

3.0

 

 

Tribal Resources Grant Program

23.0

 

 

Total: Community Oriented Policing Services

212.0

286.0

215.0

 

 

Source: The FY2016-enacted amounts were taken from the joint explanatory statement to accompany P.L. 114-113, printed in the December 17, 2015, Congressional Record (pp. H9732-H9759). FY2017-requested amounts were taken from the appendix to the Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2017. Senate committee-reported amounts were taken from S.Rept. 114-239.

Note: Amounts may not add to totals due to rounding.

21st Century Justice Initiative

As a part of its FY2017 budget request for DOJ, the Administration requests $500 million for the 21st Century Justice Initiative. This proposed initiative would be a new mandatory program that would invest $5 billion—$500 million a year for 10 years—in criminal justice reform efforts. The initiative would use federal funding to promote innovative approaches to reducing both crime and unnecessary incarceration. The program would focus on achieving three objectives: reducing crime, reversing practices that have led to unnecessarily long sentences and unnecessary incarceration, and building community trust. States would be able to use funding to focus on one or more of the following in both the adult and juvenile systems: (1) examining and changing state laws and policies that contribute to unnecessarily long sentences and unnecessary incarceration, without sacrificing public safety; (2) promoting critical advancements in community-oriented policing; and (3) providing comprehensive diversionary and reentry services. In addition, this initiative would dedicate 10% of the funding for reform efforts in the federal criminal justice system, including improving skills, education, mental health, addiction, and other recidivism-reduction programming in the Bureau of Prisons.

S. 2837 does not contain any funding for this program.

Author Contact Information

[author name scrubbed], Analyst in Crime Policy ([email address scrubbed], [phone number scrubbed])

Key Policy Staff

Area of Expertise

Name

Phone

Email

Juvenile Justice Programs

[author name scrubbed]

[phone number scrubbed]

[email address scrubbed]

Office on Violence Against Women

[author name scrubbed]

[phone number scrubbed]

[email address scrubbed]

State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance; COPS; Research, Evaluation, and Statistics

[author name scrubbed]

[phone number scrubbed]

[email address scrubbed]