DoJ awards over $92M to support reintegration of offenders
By a Biometrica staffer
The US Department of Justice announced awards of over $92 million to reduce recidivism among adults and juvenile offenders returning to their communities after confinement.
Recidivism is the inclination of a convicted criminal to reoffend. The awards were announced by the DoJ’s Office of Justice Programs. OJP’s Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), National Institute of Justice (NIJ) and Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) awarded the grants to jurisdictions, research institutions and other organizations in support of proven science-based approaches to reintegrate offenders into communities.
“Former offenders are ultimately responsible for their own successes and failures, but our criminal and juvenile justice systems have an important role to play in preparing them for the obstacles that lie before them. I’m very pleased to make these resources available to help offenders get back on their feet and contribute to the prosperity of their communities and the betterment of our nation. I saw these programs work first hand in my time as a judge and am so grateful for the hard-working people who are helping our re-entering population.” OJP Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Katharine T. Sullivan
Fiscal Year 2020 re-entry and recidivism reduction grants awarded include the following:
– More than $71.4 million under BJA’s grant programs designed to help communities develop and implement comprehensive and collaborative strategies to address the challenges posed by re-entry and recidivism.
– More than $11.2 million under OJJDP’s Second Chance Act suite of grant programs to support re-entry services for detained juveniles and incarcerated parents with children under the age of 18.
– More than $9.3 million under NIJ’s re-entry research and evaluation programs, which support rigorous research to advance understanding about reoffending and the success of re-entry strategies, programs and practices. This includes evaluating innovative re-entry initiatives that specifically focus on juveniles, young adults and adults with a moderate-to-high risk of reoffending.
The Office of Justice Programs provides federal leadership, grants, training, technical assistance and other resources to improve the nation’s capacity to prevent and reduce crime, assist victims and enhance the rule of law by strengthening the criminal and juvenile justice systems.
For the complete list of individual grant programs, amounts to be awarded, and the jurisdictions that will receive funding, click here.