The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) Fiscal Year 2025 Building Local Continuums of Care to Support Youth Success initiative seeks to assist jurisdictions in planning and assessing promising and evidence-based prevention and intervention services for youth at risk of entering or already involved in the juvenile justice system. The program’s goal is to support sustainable, research-based, and data-informed policies, practices, and programming that reduce recidivism, prevent system involvement, and strategically reinvest cost savings into effective community-based prevention and intervention services. The initiative emphasizes reducing reliance on juvenile detention and correctional facilities by enhancing access to community-based supports.

The funding opportunity is divided into two categories: State Agency Planning and Assessment Sites and Local Planning and Assessment Sites. State-level sites may receive up to $800,000 each, while local sites are eligible for up to $425,000. Both categories will involve asset mapping, gap analysis, cost-saving identification, and the development of a sustainable framework to support youth decarceration and diversion strategies. Applicants are expected to create a comprehensive community plan for sustaining evidence-based and promising prevention and intervention services. This includes timelines, benchmarks, and clear pathways for reinvesting savings into community programs.

Eligible applicants include state governments, federally recognized tribal governments, county and city governments, special district governments, and other local government entities. Applications must demonstrate readiness for juvenile justice reform, with supporting data on juvenile arrests, diversion rates, detention usage, and overreliance on incarceration. Proposals must also include youth and family partnership strategies, ensuring their involvement in case planning, advisory roles, and policy development.

Successful applicants will work with OJJDP training and technical assistance providers to identify evidence-based practices, establish cost-saving strategies, and ensure reinvestment into the community continuum of care. The initiative emphasizes stakeholder collaboration, requiring applicants to convene representatives from community-based organizations, juvenile justice agencies, schools, social services, health providers, and advocacy groups. Youth and families directly impacted by the justice system must also be included in the planning and assessment process.

Applicants are required to submit a detailed proposal narrative, a budget detail form, financial management documentation, and a Memorandum of Understanding with key partners. Deliverables include a comprehensive community plan, identification of key data points for tracking youth outcomes, and evidence of cost-saving strategies. Performance measures will track the effectiveness of interventions, the reduction in youth incarceration rates, and improvements in overall youth outcomes.

The deadline for submitting the SF-424 form in Grants.gov is February 24, 2025, followed by the full application submission in JustGrants by March 10, 2025. Funding decisions are expected by September 30, 2025, with project periods beginning on October 1, 2025, and lasting up to 18 months. Applicants are strongly encouraged to attend the pre-application webinar on February 6, 2025, for additional guidance. For further details, resources, and assistance, applicants can refer to the OJP Grant Application Resource Guide.