Juvenile Justice Funding Trends
Released: 2019-03-13T00:00:00

T he federal government has no juvenile justice system of its own. Rather, juvenile justice is administered by the states. The federal government, though, seeks to influence states' juvenile justice systems through the administration of grant programs and the provision of funds.

This report provides a brief overview of funding for the juvenile justice-related grant programs administered by the Department of Justice's (DOJ's) Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP).

Juvenile Justice Legislation and Grant Programs

A number of federally funded juvenile justice grant programs are authorized by the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (JJDPA, P.L. 93-415 ). Since its enactment, the JJDPA has been revised by several key amendments, including a significant reorganization in 2002 (by the 21 st Century Department of Justice Appropriations Authorization Act; P.L. 107-273 ). Its grant programs were most recently amended and reauthorized by the Juvenile Justice Reform Act of 2018 ( P.L. 115-385 ).

The JJDPA as originally enacted had three main components: (1) it established OJJDP to coordinate and administer federal juvenile justice efforts; (2) it created grant programs to assist states with their juvenile justice systems; and (3) it promulgated core mandates to which states must adhere in order to be eligible for certain grant funding. Although the JJDPA has been amended several times over the past 40 years, it continues to feature these three components.

The JJDPA has been the primary channel through which the federal government has provided juvenile justice funding to states. However, other programs also administered by OJJDP have contributed to overall federal juvenile justice funding.

The following section outlines various juvenile justice grant programs, including those authorized by the JJDPA. Grants noted in this section have been congressionally authorized at some point in time and have received an appropriation at least once since FY2010. Congress has also provided appropriations for programs that it has not authorized; these programs are not discussed in this section, but they are included in Table 1 , which outlines funding for juvenile justice programs since FY2010.

State Formula Grant Program

The JJDPA authorizes OJJDP to make formula grants to states for the planning, establishment, operation, coordination, and evaluation of projects that develop more effective juvenile delinquency programs and improve juvenile justice systems. Funds are allocated annually based on each state's proportion of people under the age of 18. States must adhere to certain core mandates to receive their funding. The Juvenile Justice Reform Act of 2018 ( P.L. 115-385 ) amended and reauthorized this program through FY2023.

Developing, Testing, and Demonstrating Promising New Initiatives and Programs (Challenge Grants)

The JJDPA authorizes OJJDP to make grants to state, local, and tribal governments and nongovernmental organizations for programs to develop, test, or demonstrate promising new initiatives that may prevent, control, or reduce juvenile delinquency. The Juvenile Justice Reform Act of 2018 ( P.L. 115-385 ) amended and reauthorized this program through FY2023. Of note, this grant program has not received an appropriation since FY2010.

Title V Incentive Youth Promise Grants for Local Delinquency Prevention

The JJDPA authorizes OJJDP to make grants to states, which are then transmitted through subgrants to units of local government (or nonprofits in partnership with units of local government) for delinquency prevention programs for juveniles who have come into contact with, or are at risk to come into contact with, the juvenile justice system. The Juvenile Justice Reform Act of 2018 ( P.L. 115-385 ) amended and reauthorized this program through FY2023. The JJDPA also authorizes OJJDP to make grants to eligible Indian tribes to support delinquency prevention programs for at-risk youth or those who have come into contact with the juvenile justice system. Traditionally, Congress dedicates amounts from the total appropriation for the Title V program for specific programs and purposes areas (e.g., the Tribal Youth program or preventing gang violence).

Victims of Child Abuse Act Grants

The Victims of Child Abuse Act of 1990 (Title II of the Crime Control Act of 1990, P.L. 101-647 ) authorizes OJJDP to fund technical assistance, training, and administrative reforms for state juvenile and family courts to improve the way they handle cases of child abuse and neglect. This program was most recently reauthorized in the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization Act of 2013 ( P.L. 113-4 ). Its authorization of appropriations expired in FY2018, but it has continued to receive funding.

Juvenile Mentoring Program

The Juvenile Mentoring Program was authorized by the Incentive Grants for Local Delinquency Prevention Programs Act ( P.L. 102-586 ). Grants under this program are awarded to local educational agencies (in partnership with public or private agencies) to establish and support mentoring programs to reduce delinquent behavior, improve scholastic performance, and reduce school dropouts. The program has continued to receive appropriations even though its authorization was repealed ( P.L. 107-273 ).

Juvenile Accountability Block Grants

Congress initially established the Juvenile Accountability Block Grant (JABG) program by appropriating funding for it in the FY1998 Department of Justice Appropriations Act ( P.L. 105-119 ). Congress subsequently authorized the JABG program through P.L. 107-273 . Although the authorization for the JABG program is not a part of the JJDPA, it nevertheless is administered by OJJDP. The JABG program authorizes the Attorney General to make grants to states and units of local government to strengthen their juvenile justice systems, including holding juveniles accountable for their actions. Authorization for this program expired in FY2009, but Congress continued to provide appropriations through FY2013.

Juvenile Justice Appropriations

Congress appropriates funding for programs authorized by the JJDPA as well as for other non-JJDPA grant programs through the Juvenile Justice Programs account in the annual Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. Figure 1 shows total appropriations for juvenile justice programs from FY2002 through FY2019.

Overall funding for juvenile justice programs, which had typically been above $500 million, peaked at $565 million in FY2002. From FY2002 to FY2007, however, overall funding fell by 38% to $348 million. The majority of this reduction came from cuts to the JABG program. Appropriations for JABG fell from a high of $250 million in FY2002 to $49 million in FY2007. From FY2007 to FY2010, total funding for juvenile justice programs increased by almost 22% to $424 million, with funding for JJDPA programs increasing by 27% to $331 million over this same period. This was the largest juvenile justice appropriation since FY2003.

Funding for juvenile justice programs again began to decline in FY2011, and that decline generally continued through FY2017. From FY2010 to FY2017, total funding for juvenile justice programs decreased by nearly 42%, from $424 million to $247 million. Contributing to this drop, Congress eliminated funding for the Challenge Grants in FY2011 and for the JABG program in FY2014. During this time period, however, Congress also started appropriating funding for programs that had not previously been funded under the Juvenile Justice Programs account (including funding for missing and exploited children programs, child abuse training programs for judicial personnel and practitioners, and grants and technical assistance in support of a National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention).

After appropriating a low of $247 million for juvenile justice programs in FY2017, Congress increased funding in both FY2018 and FY2019. Congress increased funding for juvenile justice programs to nearly $283 million for FY2018, and it included funds for a new Opioid Affected Youth Initiative. Congress most recently appropriated $287 million for juvenile justice programs for FY2019—the largest appropriation since the $424 million in FY2010. Historically, Congress has set aside funding from the Title V grant for gang prevention activities; however, for FY2019 Congress did not delineate funding for this purpose. It also did not include funding for community-based violence prevention, an administratively established initiative that had received appropriations since FY2010. Policymakers did, though, set aside money for an initiative serving children exposed to violence.

Historical Appropriations by Program

Table 1 provides a breakdown of funding for the Juvenile Justice Programs account by program for the 10-year period from FY2010 to FY2019.

Appropriations for specific programs in the Juvenile Justice Programs account can vary from year to year. For example, starting in FY2012, Congress moved funding for missing and exploited children programs from the Justice Assistance account to the Juvenile Justice Programs account. In addition, Congress sometimes provides funding for programs as a specific line item in the Juvenile Justice Programs account, but in other years funding for those programs is provided as a set-aside from another program in the account. For example, the Community Based Violence Prevention Initiative and the Competitive Grants Focusing on Girls in the Juvenile Justice System Program have received line item appropriations in some fiscal years and have been funded by set-asides from the Title V Incentive Grants Program in other years. By contrast, some programs have consistently been funded through set-asides from the Title V program (e.g., tribal youth and gang prevention grants).