Delaware Receives $100,000 to Prevent Youth from Entering the Juvenille Justice System and Help Build Safe Communities

WILMINGTON, DE – Delaware will receive $100,000 in federal funding to help prevent youth from entering the juvenile justice system, U.S. Senators Joe Biden and Tom Carper announced today. Funded through the U.S. Department of Justice Programs, the monies awarded the state will help showcase alternatives for at-risk youth and provide community leaders with tools to successfully build safe communities. “We need to make sure we keep Delaware kids off the streets and out of trouble — especially during the hours right after school, when study after study shows us most juvenile crimes are committed,” said Biden. “This grant will help our state fund critical programs to prevent kids from getting involved in the juvenile justice system, and I know it will be put to good use.” “The Coalition for Juvenile Justice estimates that taxpayers save $2 million for each child who is prevented from beginning a life of crime. Clearly, prevention is one of the most constructive ways we can build safe communities,” Carper said. “Many adult criminals began as juvenile offenders. These funds will go a long way towards helping provide leadership for change for our youth, our families and our communities.” The Community Prevention Grants Program gives communities flexibility to solve problems for their neighborhoods. Administered by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), it aims to help at-risk youth by offering community leaders unique resources and financial incentives that encourage the development of comprehensive, community- specific risk assessment plans. The goal of the program is to support delinquency prevention programs and activities for youth who have had or are likely to have contact with the juvenile justice system with some of the best practices in juvenile justice. The grant provides funding for orientation training for community leaders as well as money for a wide range of services such as recreation, tutoring, mentoring and leadership development activities. The program includes training for community leaders for collecting and analyzing community risk and resource data and developing community prevention plans, and provides other needed technical assistance free of charge. As Governor, Carper helped recruit thousands of mentors and became actively involved in recruiting individuals and corporations to mentor Delaware’s at-risk children. “Each of us is the person we are because of the influence of caring adults in our lives,” Carper said. “There is no greater way to make a difference in the life of a child at risk.”