OJJDP FY 2023 Enhancing School Capacity To Address Youth Violence

OJP is committed to advancing work that promotes civil rights and racial equity, increases access to justice, supports crime victims and individuals impacted by the justice system, strengthens community safety and protects the public from crime and evolving threats, and builds trust between law enforcement and the community.

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 engagement 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 targeted efforts to address youth violence through implementing evidence-based prevention and intervention efforts in a school-based setting (K-12th grade only). The goals of the program are to (1) reduce the incidence of school violence through improved school safety and climate and (2) prevent youth violence, delinquency, and victimization in the targeted community.

NOTE: This solicitation is funded to support the purposes authorized under the Students, Teachers, and Officers Preventing School Violence Act of 2018 (or STOP School Violence Act). Funds may not be used for the purchase of target-hardening equipment to secure schools, such as cameras, security systems, fencing, locks, etc. In addition, these funds may not be used to pay for armed security officers or school resource officers. Applicants interested in funding for target hardening should refer to the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) School Violence Prevention Program (SVPP).

The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), OJJDP, and the Community-Oriented Policing Services (COPS) office are all releasing solicitations in FY 2023 with funding supported by the STOP School Violence Act. Applicants should not submit duplicate applications with a similar project design in response to more than one of these DOJ solicitations. BJA, COPS and OJJDP work collaboratively to ensure these programs complement efforts undertaken and to prevent duplication.