The Office of Adult and Juvenile Justice Assistance (OAJJA) administers seven major federal and state criminal and juvenile justice funding programs and provides staffing support to the Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Board and the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (JJDP) Council. In addition, staff from the OAJJA are actively involved in policy initiatives intended to improve the criminal and juvenile justice systems.
The three grants from the federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) which are administered through OAJJA include the Formula or (Title II Grant), Juvenile Accountability Block Grant (JABG) and the Title V or (Prevention Block Grant) which provide dollars to communities to assist in local efforts designed to enhance or respond to a variety of juvenile justice and delinquency issues from prevention through aftercare. The 2006-08 funding priorities for these three grants include: Deinstitutionalization of Status Offenders (DSO); Jail Removal; Separation of Juveniles from Adult Inmates; Disproportionate Minority Contact (also referred to as Minority Over Representation); Native American Programming; Mental Health Services; Gender Specific Services; Juvenile Justice System Improvement; Diversion, Delinquency Prevention and Substance Abuse Programming. The monies are used for program development, service delivery, policy design, research and other activities. In FY 07 these grant programs totaled approximately $1.67 million. In the 2006 legislative session, the Colorado General Assembly re-established $1.2 million in funding to DCJ for re-establishing the Juvenile Diversion program. Per Colorado Statute, the goal of diversion is to prevent further involvement of juveniles in the formal justice system (19-1-103(44) C.R.S.) Juvenile diversion programs should be community-based alternatives to the formal court system for youth between the ages of 10-17 who have been taken into custody for misdemeanor or felony offenses. Diversion programs should concentrate on holding the youth accountable for their behaivor while involving them in programs and activities to prevent future criminal and delinquent behavior.
The Governor-appointed Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (JJDP) Council establishes priorities for the funding from the OJJDP and serves in an advisory capacity to the Governor and State Legislature as well as state agencies on juvenile justice and delinquency prevention matters.
OAJJA also administers the Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) from the federal Bureau of Justice Assistance which has six program areas, the National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP) available through the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics and the Paul Coverdell Forensic Science Improvement Grant Program available through the National Institute of Justice which focuses on improving the quality and timeliness of forensic science activities within the state and supports lab accreditation and reduction of backlogs and turn-around times for forensic examination activities. In 2005-2006, these three grant programs totaled approximately $3.2 million.
Similar to the JJDP Council, the Governor-appointed Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Board establishes funding priorities for the Justice Assistance Grant and serves in an advisory capacity to the Governor and State Legislature as well as state agencies on criminal justice matters.