Priority funding to be awarded to organizations and programs diverting youth away from the juvenile justice system
FRANKFORT, Ky. (March 28, 2025) – Today, Gov. Andy Beshear announced that applications are open for more than $586,000 in federal grant funding to support the prevention of youth crime in Kentucky.
“Our new Kentucky home is one where every single person, including our children, have every opportunity to succeed,” Gov. Beshear said. “This annual federal funding allows us to invest in our communities and ensure that at-risk youth are able to avoid the juvenile justice system through involvement and mentorship that will stick with them the rest of their lives.”
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.
“Investing in those projects and organizations that support our most vulnerable population and provide them a brighter future helps us create a safer Kentucky for all of us to live in,” said Justice and Public Safety Cabinet Secretary Keith Jackson. “We are able to affect meaningful changes in their lives which deter them from the criminal justice system, helping both prevent and break generational cycles of crime in the commonwealth’s communities.”
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 9, 2025, and awards are expected to be announced in September. Assistance with the application process may be obtained by contacting Grants Management staff at JUSGMB@ky.gov.
To enhance security for staff and youth, the Beshear-Coleman administration developed an aggressive plan starting in December 2022 to implement sweeping improvements to Kentucky’s juvenile justice system for the first time since its establishment nearly 25 years ago. For a full list of steps taken by the Beshear administration to reform the Department of Juvenile Justice, visit: https://justice.ky.gov/About/Pages/juvenilejustice.aspx
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