OJJDP FY 2023 Juvenile Justice System Reform and Reinvestment Initiative | O OJJDP 2023 171591

Opportunity Information: Apply for O OJJDP 2023 171591

The OJJDP FY 2023 Juvenile Justice System Reform and Reinvestment Initiative is a discretionary grant opportunity from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), designed to help states and counties modernize juvenile justice practices while reducing reoffending and improving outcomes for youth and families. The overall direction of the program reflects DOJ and OJP priorities around civil rights and racial equity, greater access to justice, stronger community safety, support for people impacted by the justice system, and building public trust. In practical terms, OJJDP is using this initiative to push juvenile justice systems toward a child-centered approach that treats children as children, relies less on confinement, and keeps young people connected to their homes, families, schools, and communities whenever safe and appropriate, while expanding opportunities for youth who have system involvement.

A central expectation in this solicitation is that applicants meaningfully involve youth and families, especially those with lived experience, in shaping and carrying out the work. The program frames youth and family members not as an afterthought or a group to be consulted once, but as ongoing partners who can help systems understand barriers, improve service design, and make reforms stick over time. Applications must explain how these partnerships will be integrated into both the project plan and the budget, meaning applicants should anticipate paying for engagement activities, supports, stipends, staffing, training, and other infrastructure needed to keep youth and family participation consistent and sustainable rather than symbolic.

The solicitation recognizes that youth and family partnership can happen at multiple levels depending on the project. At the individual level, this can include involving young people and caregivers directly in case planning and service delivery decisions before, during, and after a youth has contact with juvenile justice or other youth-serving systems. At the agency level, it can include youth and family input in policy and practice development, program design, implementation decisions, evaluation activities, staffing and advisory structures, and even budget development. At the system level, it can include participation in broader strategic planning, system improvement initiatives, advocacy and reform strategies, and cross-agency coordination efforts. The underlying message is that durable reform depends on shared decision-making with those most affected by the system.

Programmatically, OJJDP is seeking projects that implement innovative and/or research-based, data-informed policies, practices, and programs that reduce recidivism across multiple parts of the juvenile justice continuum and multiple disciplines. That includes reforms that might touch law enforcement diversion, intake and assessment, probation, courts, detention alternatives, behavioral health and substance use services, family support, education and workforce supports, and community-based interventions. The emphasis on data-informed strategies signals that applicants should be able to describe how they will use data to identify key drivers of youth justice involvement, target interventions, track performance, and measure changes in outcomes such as re-arrest, violations, placement rates, length of stay, disparities, and service engagement.

A defining feature of the initiative is the reinvestment component. OJJDP is not only funding efforts to reduce recidivism; it is also encouraging jurisdictions to create sustainable mechanisms to reinvest costs saved or costs avoided as systems shift away from expensive, less effective approaches (often secure confinement) and toward prevention and community-based interventions shown to work. In other words, the grant is meant to help jurisdictions build a reform model where improvements are financially and politically durable: as the system becomes more effective and less reliant on high-cost responses, those resources can be redirected into upstream prevention, early intervention, and proven supports for youth and families.

In terms of basic grant details, this is a grant (funding instrument type: Grant) in the Law, Justice and Legal Services category (CFDA 16.827). Eligible applicants are state governments and county governments. The opportunity was created March 3, 2023, with an original closing date of April 20, 2023. OJJDP anticipated making about three awards, with a maximum award amount (ceiling) of $1,000,000 per award. The funding opportunity number is O-OJJDP-2023-171591. Overall, the initiative targets jurisdictions ready to combine evidence-based or promising strategies, strong data practices, and authentic youth and family partnership to produce measurable reductions in reoffending and to lock in long-term reinvestment into programs that keep young people safe, supported, and connected to their communities.

• The Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention in the law, justice and legal services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "OJJDP FY 2023 Juvenile Justice System Reform and Reinvestment Initiative" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.827.
• This funding opportunity was created on Mar 03, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 20, 2023. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $1,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 3 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments.

Apply for O OJJDP 2023 171591

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