The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) was created in 1984 to reduce violent crime, create safer communities, and reform our Nation’s criminal justice system. BJA’s mission is to provide leadership and services in grant administration and criminal justice policy development to support state, local, and tribal justice strategies to achieve safer communities. BJA works with communities, governments, and nonprofit organizations to reduce crime, recidivism, and unnecessary confinement, and promote a safe and fair criminal justice system.
The grant program aims to support state-level juvenile justice system reforms through the implementation of innovative or research-based, data-informed policies. Its goal is to improve system outcomes and develop sustainable strategies for reinvesting savings or averted costs into effective delinquency prevention and intervention programs. It is organized into two categories: Category 1 focuses on Juvenile Justice System Reform targeting state governments, while Category 2 is designed for Juvenile Justice System Reform Training and Technical Assistance, open to a wider range of applicants including nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status, public and private higher education institutions, for-profit organizations, and small businesses.