Joyce Word, Office Director
(601) 977-3700
The Office of Justice Programs (OJP) is the criminal justice planning office within the Division of Public Safety Planning. Its primary function is the administration of federal grant programs funded through the United States Department of Justice, Office of Justice Program.
OJP also administers various state-appropriated grant programs, conducts criminal justice planning, presents grant workshops and provides technical assistance to local communities and law enforcement agencies. OJP administers approximately $62 million in federal dollars each year.
A synopsis of each of the federal and state grant programs and the application process follows.
Edward Byrne Memorial State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance Program Justice Assistance Grant (JAG)
Sharon Nguyen, Division Director
(601) 977-3756
In FY 2005, the Edward Byrne Memorial State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance Program (BYRNE) and the Local Law Enforcement Block Grant (LLEBG) Program were merged into the newly authorized JAG Program to streamline justice funding and grant administration. The JAG program allows states, tribes, and local governments to support a broad range of activities to prevent and control crime based on local needs, conditions and flexibility to prioritize funds where most needed.
Justice initiatives funded under BYRNE or LLEBG, listed in the state priority spending plan are eligible for JAG funding in these purpose areas: Law enforcement programs, prosecution and court programs, prevention and education programs, drug treatment programs, as well as planning, evaluation, and technology improvement programs. Emphasis is placed on helping law enforcement and related agencies control violent and drug-related crimes, improve operations and build coordination and cooperation among all components of the criminal justice system in the state of Mississippi.
The JAG program requires a 25% cash match. Grant programs funded under JAG include: Multi-Jurisdictional Drug Enforcement Task Forces, Victims/Witness Assistance Programs, Local Law Enforcement grants, Certified Investigator Training Program, community crime prevention and other related law enforcement support programs.
LLEBG provides for hiring and training of additional law enforcement officers and support staff, overtime pay and procurement of new equipment and technology. This program requires a 10% cash match. Contact Tim Wilkinson (601)977-3762 for additional information.
Residential Substance Abuse Treatment (RSAT) Program
RSAT Grant funds are to assist state and local correctional facilities with those inmates with substance abuse problems. To receive funds under this program, the RSAT program must last between 6-12 months. Participants should have between 6-12 months left to serve of their sentence, and focus on inmates’ substance abuse problems; the residential treatment facilities must be set apart from the general correctional population. RSAT requires a 25% cash match. Contact Mary Margerette Hill at (601)977-3749 for additional information.
Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN) and Anit-Gang Programs
Mary Margarette Hill, Program Manager
(601) 977-3749
PSN offers program funding, through the Mississippi U.S. Attorney’s Office (Northern and Southern Districts) in partnership with the MS Division of Public Safety Planning which acts as the fiscal agent. Funds are used to assist the U.S. Attorney’s Office to prosecute gun-related criminal cases. Funds under the Anti-Gang Initiative are used primarily to enhance PSN task force efforts to combat gang problems, prosecute gang related and violent crimes cases as well as to develop preventative methods by building on effective PSN strategies and partnerships. PSN and Anti-Gang programs are exempt from a match requirement. Contact Mary Margarette Hill (601)977-3749 for additional information.
Hurricane Relief & Other Special Programs
The Recovery Act: Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program funds, authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 is the primary provider of federal criminal justice funding to state and local jurisdictions. JAG funds support all components of the criminal justice system, from multijurisdictional drug and gang task forces to crime prevention and domestic violence programs, courts, corrections, treatment and justice information sharing initiatives. JAG funded projects may address crime through the provision of services directly to individuals and/or communities and by improving the effectiveness and efficiency of criminal justice systems, processes, and procedures. Contact (601)977-3700 for additional information.
Juvenile Justice
Ray Sims, Division Director
(601) 977-3760
The Office of Justice Programs (OJP) is the State Administering Agency for funds under the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 2002 (JJDPA). This includes Title II Formula funds, Title V Delinquency Prevention funds, and Juvenile Accountability Block Grant (JABG) funds. Additionally, the Enforcement of Underage Drinking Laws (EUDL) funds are administered by the Juvenile Justice Division of the Office of Justice Programs.
The Formula Grant Program (Title II) provides funding to support alternatives to detention, compliance monitoring, delinquency prevention, and improvements to the juvenile justice system. No match is required for the Title II Formuala Grant Program, but applicants are required to develop a plan for sustainability of the program after the termination of federal funding. Funding is administered through sub-grants to units of local government (city, county, townships, etc.) local private agencies, and Indian tribes for programs that meet federal requirements. Contact (601)977-3700, Title II Coordinator, for additional information.
The Community Prevention Grants (Title V) provide funding to support collaborative, community-based delinquency prevention efforts designed to keep at-risk youth and first-time non-serious offenders from entering, or reentering, the juvenile justice system. Units of local government participate in a 9-month process of community assessment, create a Prevention Policy board, and submit a Delinquency Prevention Plan that is in 12-month increments for up to 3 years. A fifty percent (50%) match is required. Contact (601) 977-3700 for additional information.
The Juvenile Accountability Block Grant (JABG) is a discretionary block grant. Its basic premise is that both the juvenile offender and the juvenile justice system must be held accountable. The objective is to reduce juvenile offending through both offender-focused and system focused activities that promote accountability. Units of local government, nonprofits, charitable and faith-based agencies are eligible to apply for sub-grants. A cash match of ten percent (10%), of the total cost of the program to be implemented using JABG funds, is required; construction requests require a fifty percent (50%) cash match. To apply local units of government must have an allocation of $10,000.00 or more. Contact (601)977-3700, JABG Coordinator, for additional information.
The Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws (EUDL) program supports and enhances effort by states and local jurisdictions to prohibit the sale of alcoholic beverages to minors and the purchase and consumption of alcoholic beverages by minors (individuals under 21 years of age). There are no match requirements for these grants but applicants are required to develop a plan for sustainability of the program after the termination of federal funding. Recipients of EUDL grants include law enforcement agencies, schools, coalitions, mental health agencies and other prevention organizations. Contact Jacqueline Ledger (601)977-3754, EUDL Coordinator, for additional information.
The Federal Compliance Monitoring Unit is responsible for monitoring three of four provisions of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (JJDP) Act of 2002. Each state is required to develop and implement an adequate monitoring system for achieving and maintaining compliance with the four core protections of the act. The Federal Compliance Monitor works to achieve and maintain full compliance with the three core requirements listed below:
- Deinstitutionalization of status offender (DSO);
- Separation of juveniles from adults in institutions (Separation); and
- Removal of juveniles from adult jails and lockups (Jail Removal).
NOTE: Contact Zach Pattie (601)977-3758, Compliance Monitor, for addtitional information.
The Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC) coordinator monitors the forth provisison of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (JJDP) Act of 2002. The JJDP Act broadened the scope fo the DMC initiative from “disproportionate minority confinement” to “disproportionate minority contact,” requiring an examination of potential disproportionate representation at all decision points within the juvenile justice continuum and implementation of data-based prevention and system improvement efforts to reduce identified disproportionality. The DMC Coordinator works with community stakeholders to reduce the disproportionate number of minority youth who come into contact with the juvenile justice system. Contact Ray Sims (601)977-3760, Disproportionate Minority Contact Coordinator, for additional information.
S.T.O.P Violence Against Women
Emberly K. Holmes, Division Director
(601) 977-3750
The STOP Violence Against Women Formula Grants Programs, also known as the STOP Program, was authorized by the Violence Against Women ACT (VAWA), Title IV of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, and reauthorized and amended by VAWA in 2000.
The STOP Program promotes a coordinated, multidisciplinary approach to improving the criminal justice system’s response to violent crimes against women. The program encourages the development and strengthening of effective law enforcement and prosecution strategies and victim services.
Eligible applicants are offices and agencies of state government, units of local government, Indian tribal governments, public or private non-profit organization, non-profit, non-government victim service programs for victims to carry out programs and projects specified in the Act are eligible to apply for sub-grants from this program. All public or private non-profit organizations must be an approved 501(c)(3) agency, possess a current Taxpayer Identification Number and have operated federal, state, or local project for one year.
VAWA requires a 25% match for state and local government agencies. Nonprofit and nongovernmental recipients are exempt from this requirement. Contact Rena Gaylor (601)977-3747, or Teresa Wash (601) 977-3761 for additional information.
Victims of Crime Act Program
Rosemary Horne, Division Director
(601) 977-3751
The Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) was passed by Congress and signed into law on October 12, 1984. VOCA was a result of recommendations made by the President’s Task Force on Victims of Crime. The task force concluded that the needs of crime victims could be adequately met by federal, state and local governments along with private-sector providers, sharing the responsibility of providing victim assistance.
VOCA provides funding for programs that deliver direct services to victims of crime such as crisis intervention services, emergency services, support services and court-related services.
The VOCA program requires a 20% match of project costs. Contact Rosemary W. Horne (601)977-3751, Division Director for additional information.
Victims of Crime (VOCA) 2013-2014 Grant Application
Disproportionate Minority Contact
Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC) occurs when minority youth and families come into contact with the juvenile justice and child welfare system at a rate higher than their rate in the general population. The Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency and Prevention (OJJDP) define minority populations as African Americans, American Indians, Asians, Pacific Islanders, and Hispanics. The Office of Juvenile Justice Programs is committed to reducing DMC in the State by:
- Gather, analyze, and distribute juvenile justice data
- Conduct research on effective DMC reduction programs
- Provide training and technical assistance around DMC and cultural competency
- Coordinate the DMC Subcommittee of the SAG
- Distribute federal grant funds to programs that aim to reduce DMC
History of DMC and JJDP (Juvenile Justice Delinquency and Prevention) Act
- 1974 – U.S. Congress passed the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDP), to provide a comprehensive coordinated approach to the problems of juvenile delinquency.
- 1988- Congress amended the JJDP Act requiring that States address DMC in their three year State plans.
- 1992- DMC was elevated to a core requirement in the JJDP Act with future eligibility tied to State compliance.
- 2002- OJJDP changed Disproportionate Minority Confinement to Disproportionate Minority Contact. The JJDP Act reauthorization broadened the DMC concept by requiring states to address juvenile prevention efforts and system improvement efforts designed to reduce the disproportionate number of juvenile members of minority groups, who come into contact with the juvenile system.
States participating in the Formula Grants Program address DMC on an ongoing basis by moving through the following phases:
- Identification: To determine the extent to which DMC exists.
- Assessment: To assess the reasons for DMC, if it exists.
- Intervention: To develop and implement intervention strategies to address these identified reasons.
- Evaluation: To evaluate the effectiveness of the chosen intervention strategies.
- Monitoring: To note changes in DMC trends and to adjust intervention strategies as needed.
Training/Conference Update
36th Annual Juvenile Justice Symposium
“Justice for All: Yesterday’s Problems, Tomorrow’s Solutions”
Pearl River Resort
Choctaw, MS
February 3-5, 2010
For More Information Contact:
Jacqueline Andrews- Conference Coordinator
Email: jf_andrews@comcast.net
Ray Sims II; DMC Coordinator
Email: rsims@mdpsstate.ms.us
(601) 977-3760
Civil Rights Compliance
Discrimination Complaint Policies and Procedures for
Complaints Against Sub-recipients Implementing Funding from the
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Click here for Civil Rights Policies & Procedures
Application Process
The Office of Justice Programs issues Request for Proposals (RFP) and application guidelines for each program area. Applications are accepted during the designated application period for each program. Contact the appropriate program manager to be added to the notification list for RFP if you would like to receive an application packet. For the Local Law Enforcement Block Grant application kits are automatically sent to the chief executive officer of each eligible jurisdiction.
2012 JAG LOCAL LAW SOLICITATION & APPLICATION
2012 Solicitation & Application for Wrongful Conviction