Grants over $25,000 Administered by the

Texas Juvenile Justice Department

Government Code, Chapter 403, Section 403.0245, requires state agencies and institutions of higher education that award a state grant in an amount greater than $25,000 from funds appropriated through the General Appropriations Act (GAA) to publish the purpose for which the grant was awarded on the agency’s public website. This document provides a list of such awards from TJJD.

BORDER CHILDREN’S JUSTICE PROJECT:

The Border Children’s Justice Project (BCJP) facilitates collaborative efforts by United States and foreign authorities involving juvenile courts, United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), law enforcement, United States and other consulates, child protective agencies and correctional officials. The objective of the BCJP is to return foreign national juvenile offenders to their respective communities after processing in the Texas juvenile justice system, to assist in the return of US citizen juveniles who have committed offenses in Mexico, Central America, or South America to their home communities in the United States and to serve foreign nationals residing in the United States.

HARRIS COUNTY LEADERSHIP ACADEMY:

As directed by rider, TJJD allocates funding each fiscal year to the Harris County Leadership Academy. The Harris County Leadership Academy provides a residential intensive cognitive-based program to redirect the thinking and behavior patterns of male juveniles and remove barriers to their successful transition back to their families and communities.

JUVENILE JUSTICE ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION PROGRAM (JJAEP):

Texas Education Code, Chapter 37, mandates certain counties in Texas to operate a Juvenile Justice Alternative Education Program, and the General Appropriations Act requires TJJD to provide operational funding to these counties. Other counties have applied for appropriated funds set aside to operate discretionary JJAEP programs. Students areassigned to a JJAEP program as a result of violating Texas Education Code Chapter 37 listed offenses. The JJAEP programs’ purpose is to provide academic and behavioral interventions that assist students in performing at grade level in language arts, mathematics, science, social studies and self-discipline. Some JJAEP programs are able to provide additional electives. Many JJAEP’s utilize curriculum software to support credit recovery.

PREVENTION AND INTERVENTION:

The General Appropriations Act charges four state agencies, the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, the Texas Juvenile Justice Department, the Texas Education Agency, and the Texas Military Department, with working in concert to provide juvenile delinquency and student dropout prevention and intervention services throughout Texas. These state agencies are required to coordinate the delivery of juvenile delinquency prevention and dropout prevention and intervention services. The Prevention and Intervention (P&I) grants offered by TJJD are the means by which our agency fulfills this legislative mandate.

REGIONALIZATION PLAN GRANTS:

Human Resources Code (HRC) Section 203.017 requires TJJD to implement a regionalization plan designed to keep children receiving juvenile justice services closer to home and improve outcomes through community based services. TJJD has implemented two grants to support required elements of the plan.

  • The Regional Diversion Alternatives (RDA) grant provides an array of rehabilitative services for juvenile offenders including, but not limited to, intensive community-based, residential, re-entry and aftercare programs. The RDA reimburses local probation departments for funds spent on community-based treatment services, placement and aftercare services intended to divert approved youth from commitment to TJJD.
  • The Regional Service Enhancement Project (RSEP) grants were initiated to meet the provision of the HRC 203.017 which requires that TJJD assist the local juvenile probation departments in research-based program development. Each of the seven identified juvenile probation regions received funds to develop the programs needed to meet that region’s identified service gaps.

SPECIAL NEEDS DIVERSIONARY PROGRAM:

The Special Needs Diversionary Program (SNDP) provides mental health treatment and specialized caseload probation supervision. It is administered in a collaborative model by TJJD and the Texas Correctional Office on Offenders with Medical or Mental Impairments (TCOOMMI) or a designated local mental health provider and features juvenile probation officers from local juvenile probation departments and professional mental health staff from the local mental health centers working together to coordinate services. Program elements include mental health services (including individual and group therapy, skills training, and case management), probation services (such as life skills, anger management, and mentoring), parental support and education, and linkages to long-term community supports.

STATE AID FORMULA FUNDING GRANT:

The State Aid Grant exists to ensure juvenile probation services are available in all counties statewide. The program complies with Human Resources Code (HRC), Section223.001(a):

Sec. 223.001.DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT OF STATE AID. (a)

The department shall annually allocate funds for financialassistance to juvenile boards to provide juvenile servicesaccording to current estimates of the number of juveniles in eachcounty, a basic probation funding formula for departments thatclearly defines what basic probation entails and which services areprovided, and other factors the department determines areappropriate.

DISCRETIONARY STATE AID:

Discretionary State Aid (DSA) is a competitive grant within State Aid created to comply with Human Resources Code (HRC), Section 223.001(c). DSA supports probation programs and services with a clearly defined target population that use research-driven practices and have well-defined recidivism reduction goals. The focus of DSA is intensive, community-based programs and aftercare (differentiated from prevention-type programs or residential placement), with preference given to programs for moderate to high-risk youth with corresponding treatment needs.

SUPPLEMENTAL AND EMERGENT NEEDS:

The Supplemental and Emergent Needs (S&E) program is a non-formula based program within State Aid that provides needs-driven funding over and above a probation department’s initial State Aid formula allocation. S&E funding is restricted insofar as the dollars are awarded for specific purposes. Any juvenile probation department may apply, but not all requests are granted or granted fully. Funding provided through the S&E program is incorporated into the department’s State Aid award and is subject to all the same restrictions and requirements.