OJJDP Grant: Supporting Vulnerable Youth Transitioning from Foster Care with Innovative Residential Care Models

OJJDP’s guiding philosophy is to enhance the welfare of America’s youth and broaden their opportunities for a better future. To bring these goals to fruition, OJJDP is leading efforts to transform the juvenile justice system into one that will Treat Children as Children; Serve Children at Home, With Their Families, in their Communities; and Open Up Opportunities for System-Involved Youth. OJJDP encourages all proposed applications that work with youth to highlight how the proposed program aligns with these priorities.

OJJDP envisions a juvenile justice system centered on the strengths, needs, and voices of youth and families. Young people and family members with lived experience are vital resources for understanding and reaching persons involved or at risk of involvement with youth-serving systems. OJJDP asks stakeholders to join us in sustainably integrating bold, transformative youth and family partnership strategies into our daily work. OJJDP believes in achieving positive outcomes for youth, families, and communities through meaningful partnership and active partnerships, ensuring they play a central role in collaboratively developing solutions.

Applicants must describe how their proposed project/program will integrate and sustain meaningful youth and family partnerships into their project plan and budget. Depending on the nature of an applicant’s proposed project, youth and family partnership could consist of one or more of the following:

Individual-level partnership in case planning and direct service delivery (before, during, and after contact with youth-serving systems).
Agency-level partnership (e.g., in policy, practice, and program development, implementation, and evaluation; staffing; advisory bodies; budget development).
System-level partnership (e.g., in strategic planning activities, system improvement initiatives, advocacy strategies, reform efforts).

With this solicitation, OJJDP seeks to support the establishment of a pilot demonstration program to develop, implement, and build replicable treatment models for residential-based innovative care, treatment, and services. The primary population served by such pilot programs will include adolescents and youth transitioning out of foster care who have experienced a history of foster care involvement, child poverty, child abuse or neglect, human trafficking, juvenile justice system involvement, substance use or misuse, or gang involvement. Eligible applicants can provide services to vulnerable and at-risk youth up to and including age 25.

Consistent with the Family First Prevention Services Act of 2018 (Family First), OJJDP believes that children should be kept safely with their families to avoid the trauma that results when children are placed in out-of-home care. To increase the number of children who can remain safely at home with their families, Family First provides families with greater access to mental health services, substance use treatment, and/or improved parenting skills. This law significantly shifts how the country provides services for families and youth. In particular, it changed the role of community service providers, how courts advocate and make decisions for families, and the types of placements that youth placed in out-of-home care experience. Similar to Family First, the 2018 reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act also emphasizes the value of keeping youth in their homes and families rather than out-of-home placements and incarceration. Other common values between the two Acts include commitment to evidence-based and promising practices, increased access to education and workforce development opportunities, and a focus on prevention. This solicitation recognizes the need to offer high-quality services and treatment to help put youth who are transitioning from foster care on a track for success. Funding may not be used to expand the capacity of residential facilities through construction of additional units or bed capacity.

Funding will support the efforts of eligible applicant organizations to develop or enhance their capacity to support at-risk and vulnerable youth transitioning out of foster care by funding implementation of replicable models for residential-based innovative care, treatment, and services. Funds may not be used for construction of new units or increased bed capacity for youth.