Grants

This page summarizes Michigan’s Title II Grant Opportunities and the work of past Grants. The linked reports showcase successful programs that reduced juvenile arrests and improved mental health. It also highlights key resources and insights for developing future juvenile justice initiatives statewide.

Grant Opportunities

MCJJ Grant Opportunities

Juvenile Justice Racial and Ethnic Disparities Reduction; bids due August 29, 2019 by 3:00 [...]

July 20, 2020|Grant Opportunities|

Applying for Federal Grants

Applications for competitive discretionary grants must be submitted through Grants.gov. Applicants must complete a three-step [...]

September 1, 2018|Grant Opportunities|

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Grant Impacts

Michigan agencies have successfully used Title II Grants to deploy interventions that address the unique juvenile justice needs of their communities. Detailed reports from each grantee showcase the programs implemented, their processes, and the positive outcomes achieved, demonstrating the impact and effectiveness of these targeted solutions.

Genesee County Collaborative Crisis Intervention Title II Final Evaluation Report

Genesee County 7th Judicial Circuit Court – Family Division received a grant from MDHHS and MCJJ under the Racial and Ethnic Disparities (RED) Reduction Competitive program. Under this award, the Court partnered with Mount Morris Consolidated Schools, Easterseals MORC, and a researcher from Michigan State University as a university partner, to implement the Collaborative Crisis Intervention (CCI) program as an alternative response to school-based incidents that could otherwise lead to juvenile court involvement.

Berrien County Final Evaluation Report

Berrien County provided specialized training to law enforcement and school staff, including CIT, MHFA, and SBIRT, aimed at early identification and prevention of juvenile justice issues. The grant program demonstrated impact on participant knowledge and youth delinquency rates, which can indicate community level changes based on evidence bases of provided trainings.

Genesee County (Delinquency) Final Evaluation Report

Genesee County Family Court Division, in partnership with Easterseals, implemented the Intensive Family Support (IFS) program to provide early case management and connect youth and families with services to address truancy and delinquency. The evaluation found a reduction in educational neglect and truancy petitions, indicating that early intervention can effectively lower formal court involvement. Positive family feedback further underscores the program’s success in improving youth outcomes and preventing juvenile justice system entry.

Integrated Services of Kalamazoo (ISK) Final Evaluation Report

Integrated Services of Kalamazoo launched a community-based intervention for high-risk youth at the arrest decision point, using a Collaborative Review Team (CRT) intervention approach to provide tailored social and mental health support. The evaluation showed a 20% decrease in police contacts and a 74% reduction in juvenile arrests. This successful intervention demonstrates the effectiveness of a coordinated, community-based approach and suggests it could serve as a model for similar programs.

Livingston County Final Evaluation Report

The Livingston County Juvenile Court upgraded to a centralized electronic case-management system to improve data consistency and tracking, streamline processes, and address racial and ethnic disparities. The project also introduced a new risk-assessment tool and strengthened data analysis processes to improve court practices.

Ruth Ellis Center Final Evaluation Report

The Ruth Ellis Center implemented an art therapy intervention to support LGBTQ+ youth by teaching coping strategies and managing emotional triggers. The intervention enhanced emotional well-being and reduced their risk of negative interactions with the juvenile justice system among participating youth, as evidenced by decreased scores on the MAYSI-2 and CAFAS assessments, and positive feedback from participants and families.

Resources

The implementation and evaluation of these programs led to the creation of resources designed to enhance engagement and reduce juvenile justice system involvement. These resources offer valuable insights and effective strategies for supporting at-risk youth, serving as a model for developing similar initiatives nationwide.

Partnerships & Relationship Building Brief

Effective partnerships in the juvenile justice system play a vital role in enhancing outcomes for young people while strengthening overall community well-being. By fostering collaboration among courts, schools, community organizations, law enforcement, and mental health professionals, stakeholders can build an ecosystem that supports positive youth development and reduces barriers to success. These partnerships are crucial in addressing the complex challenges faced by young individuals such as mental health issues, educational disparities, and justice system involvement. A critical focus of these collaborations is ensuring that youth from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, who often encounter additional barriers, also have their needs met. These youth are disproportionately less likely to benefit from diversion efforts, increasing their vulnerability to negative outcomes.

Data Collection Brief

Effective data collection is the foundation for understanding impact and assessing quality improvement in juvenile justice programs. Accurate and systematic data collection enables informed decision-making, provides insights into youth outcomes, and allows stakeholders to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions. Organizations that prioritize high-quality data collection directly assess whether programs achieve intended goals, such as reducing recidivism, improving school attendance, or increasing access to critical support services. Through well-coordinated efforts, reliable data can lead to better services and resources for at-risk youth and ultimately improve outcomes across the juvenile justice system.

Data Use Agreement (DUA) Brief

The Michigan Title II Grants aim to tackle juvenile delinquency and racial and ethnic disparities. As evidenced by Integrated Services of Kalamazoo, a recent grantee, DUAs are integral to demonstrating a program’s impact on the community. This brief highlights their importance for grantees and the benefits of ensuring DUAs are in place for similar work.

Intensive Family Support Program, Promising Practices

The Intensive Family Support program that was established in Genesee County through a Title II Grant led to notable decrease in truancy and educational neglect petitions, indicating a reduction in youth involvement in the justice system. The linked resource highlights lessons learned from that work and promising practices for other communities to consider when addressing how to best provide early intervention and case management to reduce youth involvement in the justice system.

Previous Grant Work

Regents of the University of Michigan

This grant will provide evidence based, rapid research for a period of two years in regards to data requests made by the Michigan Committee on Juvenile Jusitce (MCJJ). Information is required to allow the MCJJ to make informed decisions as they advise the Governor and consider grant requests and other efforts to improve juvenile justice in Michigan. Data requests will be focused around the five priority areas set by the committee which are:

Data
Diversion
Drug/mental health courts
Raise the Age
School to prison pipeline

Dispute Resolution Center (Youth Advisory Board)

The Michigan Juvenile Justice Youth Advisory Board (YAB) is a group of young people who aim to transform the juvenile justice system in Michigan through working with local and state agencies and community members while leveraging the voices of those who are the most impacted. This group of young people is from Washtenaw County, ages 16-25, most of whom have had direct contact with the justice system and are passionate about informing and transforming juvenile justice in Michigan. The Youth Advisory Board will contribute to the statewide decision-making around juvenile justice reform efforts based on their own knowledge and opinion when needed. The position and opinion of the YAB is not reflective of that of the Michigan Committee on Juvenile Justice (MCJJ). The Board engages in meaningful experiences that normalize youth as experts and co-creators of knowledge regarding juvenile justice efforts in Michigan.

Livingston County (RED Grant)

This project will centralize real-time juvenile probation data including demographics, charges, risk and needs assessments, programs and probation contacts as it relates to youth moving through arrest, formal (probation, placement and transfer) and informal (diversion and consent) processing of the juvenile court. In addition to the efficiencies of mobile probation case files, with the assistance of a court administration intern and an independent evaluator from a local university, the electronic client management system will enable the court to regularly and fully describe the demographics, risk levels, and treatment needs of the juvenile court population; determine where in the system Racial and Ethnic Disparity (RED) is the greatest problem; identify gaps in services; and identify which services (e.g. MST, juvenile drug treatment court, skill-building activities) have the greatest outcomes for youth of color.

Genesee County (RED Grant)

Based on our previous experiences and successes, the 7th Judicial Circuit Court intends to continue our work to address racial and ethnic disparities by implementing an Alternative Detention Program (ADP) and an Enhanced Diversion Program (EDP) to reduce the number of youth who are placed in secure detention and increase youth who are diverted from formal court processing. The ADP will target youth, ages 10-17 who have been arrested after-hours, determined to be low-moderate risk on the YLS risk assessment, and the court has made a determination that it is contrary to the welfare for the youth to remain in the home, but secure detention is not warranted to protect public safety and secure appearance in Court. If determined to be eligible, youth will be referred to REACH for emergency housing. Youth may be put on a tether while in the alternate detention program if deemed necessary.

The EDP will serve youth who are ages 10-17 with misdemeanor or felony arrests, status offenses or high-needs truant youth. Youth may have previous offenses, without any offenses considered to be violent or assaultive crimes as defined by the Juvenile Diversion Act. Eligible youth will be referred to one of our new diversion programs to be provided in collaboration with the Community Resolution Center (CRC) or REACH. The CRC can provide restorative justice mediation, victim-offender mediation, or parent-child mediation services. REACH will provide case management services as part of the diversion efforts.

Livingston County Child and Adolescent Data

The Livingston County Juvenile Court grant is a partnership with the Child and Adolescent Data Lab at the University of Michigan and focuses on data related activities, but also has direct implications for services provided to youth. Specifically, the project helps to centralize critical data (e.g. risk assessments, administrative records) as it relates to juvenile offenders. Using this data, the court will be able to identify which youth are at greatest risk of recidivism and identify where in the system DMC is the greatest problem. Lastly, data collected will also identify which programs (e.g. diversion, juvenile drug treatment court, truancy program, and others) have the largest impact on critical long- term outcomes (e.g. recidivism, high school graduation).