For many communities, translating the research on risk and protective factors into action remains uncharted and challenging territory. Since 1994, the first year of the Community Prevention Grants Program, OJJDP has provided states and communities guidance in the form of structure, funding, training, and technical assistance to ensure that they are in the best position possible to carry out effective delinquency prevention efforts. This chapter provides an overview of the structure of the Community Prevention Grants Program, including key principles, implementation steps, and the grant award process; describes federal training and technical assistance resources; and updates information on program funding.

Program Structure

The structure and funding guidelines of the Community Prevention Grants Program, as set forth in the final Program Guideline in the Federal Register (Volume 59, Number 146, August 1, 1994), include the program’s key principles and establish the grant award process. The structure of the Community Prevention Grants Program is intended to serve as a framework for building healthy communities in a systematic and comprehensive manner. The essential elements of this framework are as follows:

• A theory-driven, research-based prevention model.

• The tools, training, and technical assistance needed to bring community members together to build on that framework.

• Local control of program planning and implementation.

• Seed money to set the process in motion.

With these building blocks, communities are able to design and implement comprehensive, risk- and protection-focused prevention strategies that encompass all areas of young people’s lives—families, schools, peers, and communities.

Key Principles

OJJDP’s framework for the Community Prevention Grants Program is based on seven key principles that research has shown are necessary for effective delinquency prevention efforts. These principles form a strategic approach that provides a firm foundation for a community’s prevention planning process:

• Address risk and protective factors for delinquency prevention. The structure of the Community Prevention Grants Program and the training and technical assistance that OJJDP sponsors help communities identify specific local risk and protective factors and develop a prevention strategy for each community’s needs.

• Allow communities to exercise control and make decisions in regard to delinquency prevention. The Program Guideline authorizes the State Advisory Groups (SAGs)⁷ to approve the award of grant funds to units of local government and allows broad local discretion in applying funds toward community-based prevention activities. OJJDP gives states considerable flexibility in implementing the Community Prevention Grants Program. Each state is allowed to establish its own process for determining the number and funding level of subgrant awards to individual communities. In addition, each unit of local government that receives Title V funds plans, develops, and implements delinquency prevention strategies that best suit its unique risk- and protection-focused profile.

• Implement a comprehensive and multidisciplinary approach to delinquency prevention. The Program Guideline requires communities that receive grants to either designate or form a multidisciplinary Prevention Policy Board (PPB) that includes representatives from across the community (e.g., human services, education, justice, law enforcement, health and mental health, religious institutions, local government, housing, recreation, private industry). To ensure support at the highest levels, the Program also encourages key community leaders (e.g., county executives, chiefs of police, school superintendents, business leaders, juvenile justice officials) to get involved early and stay committed. The Program also promotes coordinated implementation of multiple prevention programs and the use of existing programs and services. The risk- and protection-focused model emphasizes comprehensive interventions that address multiple risk and protective factors with the expectation that these components will have synergistic, communitywide effects to prevent juvenile delinquency over the long term.

• Use a research foundation for planning. The Program requires each funded community to conduct a thorough, data-driven community assessment to identify risks, protective factors, resources, and gaps in services for youth and families. Communities then use these findings to select proven or promising prevention approaches and strategies that address the community profile. The selected approaches must demonstrate effectiveness (or at least show promise through evaluation) in potentially reducing risks, enhancing protective factors, and reducing delinquent behavior. The findings from the community assessment and the prevention strategies selected form the research base for each community’s 3-year delinquency prevention plan.

• Leverage resources and systems for delinquency prevention. As seed money, the Community Prevention Grants Program provides a financial base and the incentives necessary for local jurisdictions to secure additional prevention resources. Title V requires a 50-percent match of all funds awarded. Either the unit of local government or the state may provide this match, in either cash or in-kind contributions or services. Armed with empirical data from the local risk and resource assessment and program evaluation, communities can make better use of their existing delinquency prevention funds and, in the future, request additional federal, state, and local funding to continue their prevention efforts.

• Evaluate strategies to monitor success. Requisite program evaluation activities enable local stakeholders to assess progress, refine programs, and optimize effectiveness over time. In today’s climate of scarce resources, sound evaluation is increasingly important, and sometimes required, to secure continued program funding. Through OJJDP-sponsored training and technical assistance, community members develop local capacity to conduct both process and impact evaluations of their initiatives and monitor long-term changes in the community’s risk and protective factors and adolescent problem behaviors.

• Maintain a long-term perspective in regard to reducing juvenile delinquency. The Community Prevention Grants Program does not propose quick-fix solutions to longstanding juvenile problems. Instead, OJJDP has provided a framework that helps communities consider long-term solutions. The 3-year plan, a trademark of the Program, is intended to shift communities away from historical “hit-and-miss” approaches and toward problem solving and long-term strategic planning. In essence, the requirement for a 3-year plan forces communities to think differently about prevention, planning, and effecting change. Despite the level of effort needed to complete the plan, communities discover that it provides an empirically based, concrete foundation that guides not only Title V activities but also future community planning and action.

Implementation Steps

To help communities translate the principles of community-based prevention into action, the Community Prevention Grants Program model incorporates the key principles discussed above into four key implementation steps. Each step includes specific activities and goals designed to strengthen communities’ capacities to plan, implement, and sustain comprehensive community-based prevention strategies. The four implementation steps are described below.

Step 1: Community Mobilization. A comprehensive delinquency prevention plan requires input from a diverse group of community members. In this stage, key community leaders are brought together to form a Prevention Policy Board. PPB members’ varying perspectives are explored and merged in order to identify community needs and strengths and to plan strategies. Training is available to help PPB members understand the principles of community mobilization.

During this stage, PPB members are introduced to the rationale and benefits of risk- and protection-focused delinquency prevention and long-term prevention planning. Community members are more likely to be committed to the process if they are involved at the first stage and receive appropriate training.

Step 2: Assessment and Planning. After the PPB is formed, it begins a thorough community assessment, the findings of which are integrated into a 3-year comprehensive delinquency prevention plan. PPB members receive training on how to identify risk and protective factors, how to gather data, and how to construct a plan. They then conduct an assessment of their community to identify the risk and protective factors present and take an inventory of existing resources that are addressing community needs. Using this information, PPB members jointly develop a comprehensive 3-year delinquency prevention plan that prioritizes their needs and proposes strategies to meet those needs. This plan serves as the application to the state for a Title V subgrant.

Because each local community determines the assessment and planning processes, the type, scope, and combination of programs and services implemented vary from community to community. One community may implement a family support program to respond to its risk profile and resource gaps, another may identify the need to implement afterschool recreation services and youth leadership development activities, and yet another may focus on a widespread media campaign to mobilize the community to reduce the risks youth face. Each community creates, in essence, a unique delinquency prevention initiative tailored to its specific conditions, risk profiles, and existing resources.

Step 3: Implementation of Prevention Strategies. After a community receives a Title V subgrant, it can begin to implement delinquency prevention strategies. In line with its guiding principles, the Community Prevention Grants Program encourages communities to first strengthen and coordinate existing programs. Then, if necessary, they can implement new strategies that have proven effective in reducing risk factors and enhancing protective factors.

To assist subgrantees in selecting effective strategies, OJJDP offers training focused on promising approaches to delinquency prevention. As stated in the previous chapter, selective targeting (e.g., identifying priority risk factors and targeting strategies
to reduce those risks) is a critical aspect of effective prevention programs. It is important, then, that communities select research-based strategies that address priority risk factors and meet the needs of the identified population in the selected setting. For example, a specific mentoring program may be effective with 9- to 11-year-old boys in a school setting but may not work well with 12- to 14-year-old girls in a community agency setting. Whether the selected strategy is improved coordination of resources, implementation of new programs, or a combination of both, the overall goal is to reduce the incidence of juvenile delinquency and problem behaviors.

Step 4: Institutionalization and Monitoring. When a community has successfully completed steps 1 through 3, it can begin to monitor and evaluate its efforts to determine effectiveness. An evaluation plan that examines the processes as well as the outcomes can be used to track progress, make modifications as needed, and report on achievement of goals. Periodic evaluation of risk and protective factors and juvenile problem behaviors can inform a community about the effectiveness of its comprehensive delinquency prevention strategy.

This step also emphasizes the need for institutionalizing the community’s efforts. In this context, institutionalization involves both acquiring the resources needed to keep prevention efforts going and maintaining local commitment to the overall prevention initiative after the Title V award has ended. The following elements of the Community Prevention Grants Program foster institutionalization:

• Local subgrantees must provide a 50-percent match of the federal grant amount if it is not provided by the state. This encourages local investment from the beginning of the award period.

• Key community leaders (e.g., local government representatives, agency directors) are asked to provide support in the early planning stages. These key leaders are frequently positioned to secure local funds to sustain effective programs.

• The model is based on the use of empirical data and research-based strategies. Solid evidence of need and of success lends validity to a community’s requests for additional funding.

• The model is based on research that guides effective, comprehensive prevention planning. As agencies and community members experience early successes, it is hoped they will continue to use the principles of the Community Prevention Grants Program in ongoing delinquency prevention efforts.

Grant Award Process

Program funds are distributed to local communities in a two-step process (exhibit 2). In the first funding step, OJJDP awards grants to states. Each state, as well as the District of Columbia and U.S. territories (hereafter referred to as “states”), is eligible to apply for program funds, provided that it has a state agency designated by the chief executive under Section 299(c) of the JJDP Act and a State Advisory Group. Program grant amounts are based on a formula determined by the state’s population of youth who are subject to original juvenile court delinquency jurisdiction under state law. Up to 5 percent of a state’s allocation can be used to cover the costs of administering and evaluating subgrants and to support SAG activities related to the program. No less than 95 percent of the money must be competitively awarded as subgrants to units of local government.

Exhibit 2: Community Prevention Grants Program Grant Award Process

In the second funding step, the state agency (with SAG concurrence) awards subgrants to units of local government through a competitive process. A unit of local government is defined as any city, county, town, borough, parish, village, or other general-purpose political subdivision of a state and any Indian tribe that performs law enforcement functions. To be eligible to apply for a subgrant from the state, a unit of local government must first:

• Receive SAG certification of compliance with the JJDP Act core requirements.

• Convene or designate a local PPB consisting of 15 to 21 members who represent a balance of public agencies, nonprofit organizations, private business and industry, at-risk youth, and parents.

• Submit a 3-year comprehensive delinquency prevention plan to the state.

• Provide a 50-percent match, either cash or in-kind, of the subgrant award amount.

SAGs can establish additional eligibility criteria for subgrant awards in their states based on criteria related to juvenile crime or other indications of need (e.g., jurisdictions with above-average violent crime rates).

Exhibit 3 presents the requirements for local applicants’ comprehensive delinquency prevention plans. The grant application process calls for broad-based community involvement and specifically requires evidence of key leaders’ support and designation of a multidisciplinary PPB to mobilize and oversee the prevention effort. The grant application process also requires data collection and thorough assessments of community readiness, risks, and resources before delinquency prevention strategies are developed and funded. These assessments form the basis of an empirically based plan to implement and/or expand community-based programs and services for children and families.

To understand how evaluation is supported and managed at the state level, OJJDP asked state juvenile justice specialists to share state requirements and resources available to communities; 45 juvenile justice specialists complied. In 2002, 41 states required subgrantees to submit evaluation plans; 8 of those states also required local evaluators. Only four states specified either a percentage or an amount of money to be set aside for the evaluation work. To assist potential subgrantees in meeting the requirement for a risk and resources assessment, 37 states make data (e.g., archival data) available to them.

Training and Technical Assistance

To ensure community acquisition of necessary skills and a smooth transition from theory to action, OJJDP offers training and technical assistance for each step of the implementation process. Training is available to communities prior to the awarding of subgrants to help them develop the knowledge and skills necessary to successfully negotiate each stage of the planning process. This training provides both detailed information about requirements for subgrant applications and tools for assessing local risk factors, evaluating community resources, and selecting research-based strategies targeted to local needs. Ongoing technical assistance and training are offered to Title V subgrantees to ensure they have the skills necessary to successfully implement their delinquency prevention strategies and evaluate the effectiveness of their efforts. OJJDP also provides training and technical assistance to help state representatives implement the Title V program model.

Curriculum

A core component of this training and technical assistance is the Title V training curriculum. The curriculum emphasizes theory-based and evidence-driven planning. It provides both detailed information regarding the requirements for Title V subgrant applications (as outlined in the Federal Register) and the tools and instruments PPBs use during and between training sessions to fulfill these requirements. These easy-to-use, locality-specific tools help communities focus on collecting data on local risk and protective factors and selecting research-based strategies based on their local needs and gaps in services.

The curriculum includes three training sessions for communities interested in applying for Title V funds: community team orientation training, community data collection and analysis training, and community plan and program development training. These training sessions are explained in detail below.

Community team orientation. This half-day training session is conducted in each community interested in applying for Title V funds. If several communities are interested and if it is geographically convenient to do so, regional training sessions can be arranged. The goal of the training is to bring together key local leaders and all members of the PPB for an overview of the Title V model. The overview includes topics such as team building, mobilizing and sustaining a community planning board, delinquency theory and prevention models, assessing community readiness and commitment to prevention, and collecting data on state and local risk and protective factors. In 2002, participants representing 110 communities from 11 states completed the community team orientation training.

Participants in the team orientation training receive the Community Data Collection (CDC) Manual, which provides detailed information on 19 risk factors and 15 protective factors, including definitions and data sources for more than 115 indicators. The CDC Manual also provides national-level trend information and templates on risk factor indicators to help communities in the data collection process.

Community data collection and analysis. This 2-day training session is delivered statewide or regionally, as necessary. Teams of four to six members from communities that were represented at the first training session bring the data they collected after the first training. During these sessions, participants review, analyze, interpret, prioritize, and present the risk and protective factor data they have collected. In addition, communities learn how to assess and identify gaps in community resources and craft a community profile and assessment report. This report forms the basis of the Title V 3-year comprehensive delinquency prevention plan, a major component of the application for Title V funds. In 2002, participants representing 98 communities from 10 states completed the community data collection and analysis training.

Participants in the data collection and analysis training receive the Promising and Effective Programs (PEP) Guide to help them select research-based prevention strategies. The PEP Guide includes the following information:

• An overview of 20 types of prevention programs that have been categorized as highly effective, effective, and promising based on rigorous methodological criteria.

• A state-of-the-art literature review for each type of program.

• One-page fact sheets on more than 80 programs that provide detailed information on each program’s activities, evaluation findings, risk and protective factors, and contact information.

To further increase communities’ access to up-to-date information on research-based strategies, OJJDP will support the development of a database that builds on the PEP Guide.

Community plan and program development. This 1-day training takes participants through a step-by-step process to develop the 3-year comprehensive delinquency prevention plan. The session can accommodate multiple teams of six to eight participants, each of whom represents a critical sector of their community. Teams are taught to select research-based prevention strategies, assess the suitability of programs for their communities, develop measurable goals and objectives, outline a timetable for implementation, and design an evaluation plan. On completion of this training session, participating communities have completed all components of the risk and resource assessment and should be developing their 3-year delinquency prevention plan. In 2002, participants representing 94 communities from 11 states completed the community plan and program development training.

Evaluation of Training Sessions

Each training session is evaluated to ensure the appropriateness of the content and the trainers’ effectiveness. Specifically, sessions are evaluated based on participant satisfaction scores, which are derived from a composite measure based on two 5-point scales. The first scale assesses each participant’s degree of satisfaction with each training module on a scale from 1 (the lowest possible score) to 5 (the highest possible score). The second measures each participant’s assessment of the trainers’ skills, including knowledge in relevant content areas, ability to answer questions clearly and completely, ability to give clear instructions for each exercise, and extent to which trainers were prepared and organized.

Gathered data are entered into a database and analyzed. The analysis produces an overall score for both the training curriculum and each trainer. Based on a 5-point scale (5 being the highest score), evaluation scores for community team orientation training in 2002 ranged from 4.0 to 4.7, with an average rating of 4.2. For community data collection and analysis training, scores ranged from 4.3 to 4.8, with a mean score of 4.5. For community plan and program development training, scores ranged from 4.2 to 4.9, with a mean of 4.4. The overall trainer evaluation score was 4.7. These evaluation findings are used for curriculum enhancement and trainer performance review.

Customized Training and Technical Assistance

OJJDP is also proactive in meeting the specific needs of states and communities. For example, if a state or community has specific technical assistance needs, or if the series of three training sessions does not fit a state’s particular funding cycle, OJJDP will provide customized training and technical assistance. This training often consists of providing a condensed version or overview of the three sessions described above to representatives of SAGs, county agencies, and youth-serving organizations. Presentations of varying lengths are also made to state juvenile justice specialists, state Title V coordinators, the Coalition for Juvenile Justice, practitioners, and researchers. Technical assistance is provided via phone to state and community representatives. In 2002, representatives from 65 communities participated in these activities.

To respond to the needs of Spanish-speaking communities, OJJDP produced a Spanish translation of the training curriculum and selected materials. Nineteen communities in Puerto Rico have participated in the Spanish-language Title V training, which is taught by bilingual instructors. OJJDP has also developed several new training sessions for state juvenile justice specialists and state Title V coordinators to enhance their capacity to help local Title V subgrantees. The new training sessions cover topics such as maintaining and enhancing local PPBs, evaluating local prevention activities, and sustaining Title V activities after funding ends. These new training sessions were previewed at a Coalition for Juvenile Justice conference in April 2002; they will continue to be offered to states and communities in 2003. A script for a training video that states can use to increase local interest in applying for Title V funds has also been developed.

Ongoing Technical Assistance for States and Subgrantees

OJJDP provides additional technical assistance to states and communities on an as-needed basis. Title V subgrantees can receive training in a variety of interest areas and technical topics through their OJJDP state representative. In response to past requests, training sessions have been conducted to help communities:

• Understand the concepts underlying risk- and protection-focused prevention.

• Maintain and build on collaborative relationships.

• Design and implement program evaluations.

Technical assistance at the state level has included helping individual state agency or SAG members become familiar with the Title V approach and working with state-level staff to reconceptualize and rewrite training announcements and requests-for-proposals to better reflect the requirements of the Title V model.

To assist Title V subgrantees with program evaluation, OJJDP developed the Title V Community Self-Evaluation Workbook (Workbook). The Workbook provides the framework and tools communities need to collect data relevant to their delinquency prevention goals and objectives and to measure their progress in decreasing risk factors, enhancing protective factors, and improving community conditions. The Workbook consists of easy-to-complete forms and step-by-step instructions that guide communities through evaluation activities designed specifically around the Title V prevention model. The Workbook also provides information about how to analyze and use evaluation data to improve program operation and youth services. Training in how to use the Workbook is available to Title V subgrantees and can be accessed through the OJJDP state representative.

Title V Newsletter

The Title V newsletter, Community Prevention: Title V Update, is sent to all state juvenile justice specialists, Title V coordinators, and Title V subgrantees and is distributed to potential subgrantees at Title V training sessions. The newsletter, which is also available online at www.dsgonline.com/projects_ titlev_newsletters.html, contains useful information on the Title V training process, the availability of technical assistance, and other resources. Each issue focuses on a different theme. In 2002, the Winter/Spring issue focused on sustainability, a topic of great interest to all subgrantees as they struggle to find ways to continue their Title V programs and activities after funding ends. Future issues will focus on using performance measurement to track the progress and outcomes of research-based programs implemented under Title V and on developing and implementing evaluation plans.

To disseminate the newsletter and other information in a timely and efficient manner, OJJDP maintains a database of all current Title V subgrantees. In addition, a Title V listserv facilitates information-sharing among OJJDP, juvenile justice specialists, and state Title V coordinators.

Program Funding

Over the past 9 years, all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and 5 territories have received Title V funds. As shown in exhibit 4, congressional appropriations to the Community Prevention Grants Program under Title V have fluctuated over the years, from $13 million in 1994 to $40.5 million in 1999 to $26.7 million in 2002. As of 2002, program funds have been used to support the delinquency prevention efforts of 1,462 communities nationwide. A total of 588 communities have received a full 3 years of Title V funding, with total awards ranging from $7,250 to $1,503,000. Exhibit 5 presents the total number of communities in each state that have received Title V subgrants since FY 1994.

FY 2002 Federal Allocations to States

The federal allocations to the states in FY 2002 ranged from a minimum of $100,000 to a maximum of $3,403,000. The allocation to each territory was $33,000, with the exception of Puerto Rico, which was allocated $402,000 based on the size of its juvenile population.

In FY 2002, South Dakota was the only state that did not participate in the Community Prevention Grants Program.⁸ Guam applied for but did not receive FY 2002 funds because of the timing of its request. These funds will be awarded to Guam in 2003. Exhibit 6 summarizes the allocation of Title V funds from FY 1994 through FY 2002.

FY 2002 Subgrant Awards

As of April 10, 2003, 23 of the 54 states that participated in the Community Prevention Grants Program in FY 2002 had awarded some or all of their funds. These awards include 49 new subgrants (communities that had not received a subgrant in previous years) and 134 continuation subgrants (communities that had received a subgrant in previous years). The 183 subgrantees reflect a diverse group of communities: urban, rural, small, and large. The awards range from $1,621 to $200,000: 25 percent of the subgrantees received $15,000 or less, 50 percent received between $15,500 and $52,000, and 25 percent received more than $52,000. Some states awarded subgrantees small grants of between $5,000 and $15,000. Other states, such as Iowa, awarded even smaller grants ($1,600) because they pool their Title V funds with other federal, state, and local funds into lump sum awards. Although the Title V subgrants in these states seem very small when considered alone, the combined total of funds received by each subgrantee is generally much larger.

Exhibit 5: Number of Title V Subgrants, by State: 1994–2002 (N = 1,462)

⁷ As provided by Section 223(a)(3) of the JJDP Act, the SAG is an advisory board appointed by the governor. It consists
of 15 to 33 members who have training, experience, or special knowledge concerning the prevention and treatment of juvenile delinquency or the administration of juvenile justice. SAG responsibilities include overseeing the preparation and administration of the state’s juvenile justice plan, advising policymakers on juvenile justice issues, and reviewing grant applications related to juvenile justice and delinquency prevention, including the Community Prevention Grants Program.

⁸ That is, South Dakota did not apply to receive its allocation. Participation in the Community Prevention Grants Program is not obligatory. The allocations of states that choose not to participate are rolled over and combined with the appropriation for the next fiscal year.