The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention issued its broad solicitation for training and technical services this week, a large contract meant to replace a number of smaller projects on singular issues including youth in custody, state advisory groups and racial disparities.
The new “Coordinated Assistance to States” project will provide $2 million in a one-year cooperative agreement to one organization, which will be responsible for training and technical assistance in six different areas:
- Racial disparities reduction strategies
- Compliance with the core requirements of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJPDA)
- Assisting state advisory groups (SAG)
- State, local and tribal departments of juvenile justice
- Justice information sharing
- Emergency planning at juvenile residential facilities
The winner will provide “states and communities with coordinated resources and training and technical assistance,” according to the OJJDP solicitation. The agreement could be extended for another four years, meaning the grant is potentially worth $10 million over five years.
This grant will replace a number of issue- and population-specific arrangements that OJJDP has entered into in the past. Last month, OJJDP notified one of its grantees, the National Partnership for Juvenile Services, that it was stopping funding for the National Center on Youth in Custody, even though the grant could have been continued for an additional two years.
OJJDP later acknowledged to The Imprint that it was also halting grants on juvenile information sharing and SAG assistance. A three-year grant on JJDPA compliance, which had been carried out in a partnership between multiple organizations, expires this year.
Funding for a racial disparities reduction project began in fiscal 2014, and went to the Center for Children’s Law and Policy. But the $250,000 for that venture was pieced together from unspent 2011 and 2012 funds.
The deadline for applications is July 3. Click here for details on the solicitation.