OJJDP FY 2017 Defending Childhood American Indian/Alaska Native Policy Initiative: Supporting Trauma-Informed Juvenile Justice Systems for Tribes | OJJDP 2017 11023

Opportunity Information: Apply for OJJDP 2017 11023

The OJJDP FY 2017 Defending Childhood American Indian/Alaska Native Policy Initiative: Supporting Trauma-Informed Juvenile Justice Systems for Tribes is a discretionary federal grant program from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), aimed at strengthening how federally recognized tribes respond to youth who have experienced violence and trauma. The central purpose is to build tribal capacity to improve juvenile justice systems and closely connected child-serving systems, especially child welfare and education, so that tribal youth who are at risk of entering the system or already involved in it receive responses that are trauma-informed, culturally grounded, and more effective at improving long-term outcomes.

This opportunity is built around implementing key recommendations from the Attorney General's Advisory Committee on American Indian/Alaska Native Children Exposed to Violence. In practice, applicants are expected to align proposed work with three specific recommendations. First, Recommendation 4.2 emphasizes the need for tribes to receive funding and technical assistance to develop, update, or revise tribal codes so they are trauma-informed and culturally specific, which means tribal laws and policies should reflect an understanding of trauma, incorporate tribal values and practices, and better guide how youth are handled in justice settings. Second, Recommendation 4.4 pushes systems to use secure detention only in limited situations when a young person poses a danger to themselves or the community, and encourages detention placements to be close to the child's home community and to provide trauma-informed, culturally appropriate, individualized services, including reentry support. This recommendation also highlights building alternatives to detention, such as safe houses, and ensuring those options exist in both urban and rural American Indian/Alaska Native communities. Third, Recommendation 4.5 calls for culturally appropriate, trauma-informed screening, assessment, and care to become standard practice across juvenile justice systems and among providers, meaning that identifying trauma-related needs and connecting youth to appropriate supports should be routine, not optional or inconsistent.

The overall goal of the initiative is to increase the number of federally recognized tribes that have put in place programs, services, and system enhancements that reduce the harm caused by children's exposure to violence and improve life outcomes for system-involved or at-risk youth. Rather than focusing only on individual services, the program is designed to support system-level changes, such as strengthening policies, improving practices across agencies, and creating better coordination among tribal justice, child welfare, schools, and service providers.

Funding under this solicitation was structured to support up to four awards, with an award ceiling of $437,500 per recipient, and was offered through a cooperative agreement, which typically indicates that OJJDP expects to have substantial involvement during the project period (for example, active collaboration, guidance, or required coordination with federal partners). Eligible applicants were limited to federally recognized Native American tribal governments. The assistance is tied to a required collaboration with an OJJDP-selected training and technical assistance provider. Awarded tribes would begin with an initial planning phase centered on a needs assessment, which is meant to help the tribe identify gaps, priorities, and readiness for change. That planning work is expected to lead directly into implementation of programs, practices, and resources that match the tribe's self-identified goals, while still aligning with the three advisory committee recommendations.

Key administrative details included the funding opportunity number OJJDP 2017 11023, CFDA 16.731 (a juvenile justice and delinquency prevention assistance program), a creation date of March 24, 2017, and an original application closing date of May 11, 2017. Overall, the grant is best understood as a targeted effort to help tribes move toward juvenile justice approaches that reduce reliance on detention, embed trauma-informed and culturally rooted responses into policy and practice, and improve coordination across the systems that touch the lives of tribal youth.

• 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 2017 Defending Childhood American Indian/Alaska Native Policy Initiative: Supporting Trauma-Informed Juvenile Justice Systems for Tribes" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.731.
• This funding opportunity was created on Mar 24, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by May 11, 2017. (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 $437,500.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 4 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized).

Apply for OJJDP 2017 11023

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