RALEIGH, (SGRToday.com) - The U.S. Justice Department has chosen North Carolina for a federal grant to implement an innovative reintegration of juvenile offenders into the community.

The $735,000 grant was awarded to the Department of Public Safety. It requires a $367,500 match, for a total of $1.1 million impact.
 

“We are excited about the enhanced opportunities for system reform this grant brings North Carolina,” said DPS Secretary Frank Perry in a news release. “The federal funding allows us to continue to improve the way we do business, which heightens public safety while improving the outcomes for the youth and families we serve.”

The grant will cover:

-- Improved juvenile assessment policies and practices

-- A comprehensive service plan throughout the juvenile justice system continuum

-- Creation and implementation of a tool to match juveniles to the services they need

-- Delivery of effective and developmentally appropriate programming for juveniles, including the development of an education and workforce development strategy that targets criminogenic needs

-- Implementation of a family engagement and strengthening strategy to ensure that juveniles reentering family life can depend upon a strong and stable support system
Documenting the effects of this reentry reform strategy on recidivism, education, employment and behavioral health outcomes