Priority funding to be awarded to programs diverting youth from the juvenile justice system
FRANKFORT, Ky. (April 2, 2024) – Today, Gov. Andy Beshear announced that applications will be available on April 5, for an anticipated $815,771 in grant funding to aid in preventing youth crime across the commonwealth.
“Since I became Governor, we have worked daily to create a Kentucky that is safer, fostering an environment where all children can thrive and become whoever they want to be,” said Gov. Beshear. “This annual funding allows us to invest in our communities and help at-risk youth avoid the juvenile justice system while supporting our agencies who are doing good work.”
The Title II Formula Grants Program, administered by the U.S. Department of Justice, supports state and local delinquency prevention and intervention efforts and juvenile justice systems improvements. Eligible applicants include public agencies, nonprofit programs, local units of government and private not-for-profit organizations providing youth with job training, mental health and substance abuse treatment, community-based programs and services, reentry/aftercare services and school programs to prevent truancy. Priority will be given to programs preventing justice system involvement or intervening with first-time and non-serious offenders to divert contact with the juvenile justice system.
“We must invest at the community level if we are going to truly prevent our youth from committing crime,” Justice and Public Safety Cabinet Secretary Keith Jackson said. “By investing in our youth at a young age, we have a better chance of turning their lives around before they become adults and make decisions that land them in the criminal justice system. One youth deterred from feeling like they must commit acts of crime to survive is another step forward the commonwealth takes in reducing recidivism, addiction and strengthening families for the long haul.”
All applications must be submitted online via Intelligrants10 (IGX), the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet's electronic Grants Management System. New applicants will be required to establish an account and become familiar with the system well in advance of the due date. Applicants should also note that validating a new user account requires 48 to 72 hours.
Applications are due by 5 p.m. EDT on May 10, 2024, and awards are expected to be announced in August. Assistance with the application process may be obtained by contacting Grants Management staff at JUSGMB@ky.gov.
On March 27, 2023, the Governor signed two pieces of legislation into law as part of his aggressive plan to implement the most sweeping improvements in Kentucky’s juvenile justice system in its history, further protecting juveniles and staff at all juvenile justice facilities.
In February 2023, Gov. Beshear raised detention center youth workers’ salaries to a minimum of $50,000 annually and reclassified the position title to correctional officer.
In Dec. 2022, for the first time in Kentucky, the Governor opened a female-only detention center and in Jan. 2023, he separated male juveniles by security level based on the severity of their offense.
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