Maine receives $242,500 juvenile justice grant

WASHINGTON – The Maine Department of Corrections will receive grants totaling $242,500 from the U.S. Department of Justice to fund programs that prevent youth from entering the juvenile justice system, according to U.S. Sens. Olympia J. Snowe and Susan M. Collins.

“Through coordinated efforts at the federal, state and local level, we have started to see an overall reduction in youth violence,” said Snowe and Collins in a joint statement. “The grants … continue our commitment to support troubled children and youth before they break the law by building new community partnerships focusing on prevention and rehabilitation.”

The Community Prevention Grants Program focuses on reducing risks and enhancing protective factors to prevent youth from entering the juvenile justice system. It offers a funding incentive to encourage community leaders to initiate multidisciplinary assessments of risks and resources unique to their communities and to develop comprehensive, collaborative plans to prevent delinquency.

The Justice Department grants were awarded under the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act, which provides the major source of federal funding to improve states’ juvenile justice systems. The measure was developed with a broad consensus that children should not have contact with adults in jails and other institutional settings.