Reference no: EM133211526
Assignment - Grant Opportunities Reflection & Discussion Responses
Description - There are many government grant opportunities (at the federal, state, and local level) for criminal justice related projects and initiatives. In addition, private, public, and non-profit organizations often provide grants earmarked for resolving specific types of problems through initiatives or outreach. In this discussion, you research and share an initiative to address a specific criminal justice issue, as well as possible funding sources for that initiative. You will work on the same issue and initiative for your assignment this week. Note: Think small. Do not try to solve large global or societal problems.
The following resources will help you get started exploring possible sources of funding:
Grants 101: Find Funding Opportunities from the Office of Justice Programs
Grants/Funding: Funding Resource Center from the Office of Justice Programs
Respond to the following in a minimum of 175 words:
Provide a brief description of a problem within your community that affects your criminal justice system and an initiative that would address the problem.
What are 3 potential sources of grant funding for the initiative you identified?
Post 2 replies to classmates or your faculty member. Be constructive and professional. Please reply within 100 words each post.
1) One issue that seems to plague Texas is insufficient reform for state jails. There are 17-state ran jail facilities that were set up in the early 1990s. They were originally a middle ground for incarceration between the county jails and the state prison system and were intended to help with the treatment and rehabilitation of individuals that commit drug-related crimes. Unfortunately, the State never actually funded the rehabilitation part of their state jails, and they ended up more of a short-term prison-like warehouse for drug-addicted offenders or individuals who commit lower-level felonies. Now, state jails have higher recidivism rates than either state prisons or county jails as more offenses have been added to the list of state jail felonies, including crimes that aren't related to addiction. Some initiatives that can be taken to help state jails with their recidivism problem and keep incarceration rates down are: decriminalizing certain activities and reclassifying certain low-level felonies such as possession of marijuana; being able to expand the use of prison alternatives for non-violent crimes, and keeping individuals with mental health or substance abuse issues away from jails and prisons; with certain felonies being able to reduce prison term lengths and the length of parole/probation sentences; and restrict who ends up back in prison for certain violations of probation/parole. There are a few grants from the federal government that could help with state jail reform: the Second Chance Act, the Justice Reinvestment Initiative, and the Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program.
2) One of the problems that my community has in Stockton California is tagging on public and private property. It doesn't hard anyone physically but financially it does it cost the city over $900,000 to clean up the graffiti. Majority of the graffiti is not gang related it is a way for the teenagers to express themselves and they see no harm on what they are doing. The city has offer up to $1,000 if the tip that someone gives leads to an arrest. The teenagers that do graffiti call them self-street artists and they take pride on the work they do and put their nickname on their work. Instead of punishing the street artists for expressing how they feel way not create programs where they can express them self in a safe way without breaking the law.
The first potential grant I believe my initiative could receive is the OJJDP FY 2022 Supporting Vulnerable At-Risk Youth and Youth Transitioning Out of Foster Care. This grant supports programs that work to build and implement residential-based treatment models, innovative care and services and is divided into two categories, 1. Project Sites Category and 2. Training and technical assistance.
The second potential grant I think my initiative could receive is the Keep America Beautiful's Graffiti Prevention Grants Program. This program works with local governments, police forces, civic groups, and businesses help remove graffiti from communities if a pro-active manor. It promotes partners and programs to take greater responsibility for improving community environments though successful prevention efforts.
The third grant I think would be best for my initiative is the Graffiti Prevention Grants. It funds projects that provide programs that cover graffiti walls vulnerable to graffiti, provide activities that encourage community ownership and care, anti-graffiti education, and graffiti removal activities.